The Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism in the U.S. and Travelocity have announced a new shopping and booking engine on LouisianaTravel.com. In addition, Travelocity will power online travel shopping for the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and the convention and visitor bureaus in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport.

Under the terms of the multi-year agreements, Travelocity’s (www.travelocity.com) World Choice Travel (www.worldchoicetravel.com) division will power the booking engine for each organizations’ Web site, providing a variety of travel products ranging from flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages and last minute packages for visitors around the world interested in traveling to the Bayou State. This marks the first time Travelocity has simultaneously entered into comprehensive agreements with a statewide group of destination marketing organizations.

“The launch of this new shopping and booking engine is the next major milestone in Louisiana’s tourism industry’s rebirth,” said Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu. “The bottom line is that we need to get the message out that Louisiana is back open for business and pique the interest of tourists wanting to experience firsthand our great state.”

“Travelocity is proud to be playing such a key role in revitalizing tourism throughout Louisiana,” said Richard Harris, senior vice president, strategy and distribution for Travelocity. “We are eager to help reintroduce the zest and spice each of these destinations has to offer to travelers everywhere.”

“We are looking forward to raising the awareness and reach of our tourism message through this new alignment with Louisiana Tourism and Travelocity,” said Sandy Shilstone, president and CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. “Working through Travelocity to reach the millions of tourists who will travel to New Orleans is the right move in making our region’s rich cultural heritage and unique attractions available to online shoppers. We are thrilled to be working with Travelocity and teams throughout its organization in achieving this goal.”

The Web sites in Louisiana that Travelocity will be powering through WCT include:

  — Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism:
      www.louisianatravel.com

  — New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp: www.neworleansonline.com

  — Baton Rough Convention & Visitors Bureau:
      www.visitbatonrouge.com

  — Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission:
      www.lafayettetravel.com

  — Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau:
      www.shreveport-bossier.org

This partnership with Travelocity for the new shopping and booking engine is part of the ongoing efforts outlined in “Louisiana Rebirth: Restoring the Soul of America,” a strategic plan released immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by the Office of the Lt. Governor to rebuild the tourism industry.

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