The Louisiana Travel Promotion Association (LTPA) – which voted Tuesday to change its name to the Louisiana Travel Association (LTA) – named the Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights as the winner of the Festival/Event of the Year during its Annual Membership Meeting on Jan. 23, 2018 in Lafayette.
“This year, the Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights turns 25 and it’s been a successful run of promoting regional cities during the holidays,” said Johnnye Kennon for the Webster Parish CVB and HTOL board member. “We are happy to partner with the other cities to promote the Trail and we are excited that the Louisiana Travel Association recognized our efforts and honored the Trail of Lights with a Louey Award.”
The Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, established in 1992, promotes holiday related events in Shreveport-Bossier, Minden, Monroe-West Monroe, Natchitoches and Alexandria/Pineville. The Trail’s mission is to increase regional leisure visitation and group tours in north Louisiana. Popular stops on the trail include Christmas in Roseland-Shreveport, Christmas in Minden, Natchitoches Christmas Festival, Christmas on the River in Monroe-West Monroe, and more.
This year, HTOL’s public relations efforts generated $278,066 in advertisement equivalency value. Advertising and public relations efforts lead to 119,674 page visits to www.holidaytrailoflights.com. The top cities where website visitors live included Houston, Dallas, Baton Rouge, Washington D.C., and New Orleans.
This year, LTA presented 17 “Louey Awards” to honor and showcase individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the Louisiana tourism industry.