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With a slow return of festivals, sun and outdoor attractions, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes are beginning to see tourists return to the area, officials say. Tourism and travel contribute $54 million to the local economy annually, said Cody Gray, president and CEO of Louisiana Cajun Bayou, Lafourche Parish s tourism agency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hotel occupancy and the taxes it produces for local tourism agencies increased, Gray said. But the uptick stemmed from private contracts between oil companies and large hotels, where workers were sent to quarantine prior to going offshore. “We’re taking this very good circumstance from a very bad situation and investing it into tourism and reinvesting into our tourism assets and into our promotions,” Gray said. ....
There’s a treasure hunt going on right in our own backyard. Look closer at the local ice cream parlor or cemetery and you just might find geocaches close by. Collecting the small tokens, known as geocaching, is a popular recreational activity, in which people can participate using a GPS, mobile device, or other mode of navigation to find geocaches at specific marked coordinates. Participants record their finds online to show their friends and fellow geocachers where they have been, and those who collect all 22 caches in Terrebonne Parish can receive a Houma Geocoin to mark the achievement. First established 2015, Houma hosts one of only 50 GeoTours in the whole world. ....
Attendees had to wear masks (the non-Mardi Gras kind) and take a temperature check to participate. With an assortment of glitter, feathers, green, yellow and purple paints second-grader Elise Marcel, fourth-grader Hannah Hessel and fifth-graders Morgan Marcel and Kaylin Hessel came along with their families to decorate masks. Purple is my favorite color,” said Kaylin Hessel while working on her second mask, “I’m making them for my friends to make them happy.” Executive Director Sondra Corbitt said the event is the start of more local programming for the visitors bureau. “We are planning quarterly events, providing opportunities to learn about tourism, and get locals invested in our own attractions and restaurants,” said Corbitt. ....
The chances of seeing Mardi Gras-style parades in Terrebonne and Lafourche in 2021 are currently somewhere between slim and none, but a few local folks are hoping to bring some of the color and pageantry of Carnival floats to their neighborhoods. Nicole Marie, owner and operator of Facebook group Da Buzz, is holding a yard decorating competition called “Yardi Gras,” after seeing similar competitions being held in New Orleans on social media. Mardi Gras krewes there have taken to decorating their houses to resemble parade floats, something Marie wants to see here. It’d be a great idea to develop something on Da Buzz and call it Yardi Gras,” Marie said. “I started having businesses call me and message me wanting to donate for first place and second and third prizes, and it just took off from there.” ....