Page 9 - Shreveport-Bossier Destination Master Plan 2023

OBJECTIVES FOR THIS DESTINATION MASTER PLAN
The development of the Shreveport-Bossier Destination Master Plan goes back to January 2019. Visit Shreveport-Bossier and the MMGY NextFactor consultancy conducted a “DestinationNEXT Assessment Survey” to identify how local community and industry stakeholders perceived the performance of the region’s visitor industry. More than 330 other cities have participated in the same assessment survey.
A total of 401 stakeholders across Caddo and Bossier parishes answered questions related to 20 variables focusing on the quality of local infrastructure and air service, attractions and special events, hotels and restaurants, convention and meeting facilities, entertainment and gaming, community alignment and government support, local workforce and small business development, and other themes.
The DestinationNEXT survey results identified opportunities and challenges to improve Shreveport-Bossier’s visitor economy. To build on the data as effectively as possible
for the benefit of the community, Visit Shreveport-Bossier subsequently contracted MMGY NextFactor to develop the organization’s 2020 Strategic Plan. That process
was stewarded by Visit Shreveport-Bossier’s Board of Directors, which consists of community and industry leaders in both Shreveport and Bossier City.
Two key directives emerged from the strategic plan. The organization’s Board of Directors identified the need for a 10-year destination master plan to increase direct visitor dollar revenues for local businesses, while also supporting broader community, workforce and economic development initiatives. The second directive prioritized the need for a new regional brand that any organization or business in the region could use for their own purposes.
The process to develop the 10-year Shreveport-Bossier Destination Master Plan began in early 2022. Ultimately, this document was created to enhance local quality of life and build unity in Caddo and Bossier parishes by optimizing the visitor economy to benefit as many local residents as possible from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
That is a critical point of understanding for all of us. Increasing visitor dollars coming into the region contributes to the local tax base to help fund infrastructure improvements, community amenities, and public services, etc. Expanding and diversifying that economic activity also provides a wide range of employment and professional development opportunities from entry level to executive positions. Furthermore, higher visitor volumes also support Shreveport-Bossier’s investment, talent and resident attraction efforts. Few people (military not withstanding) have ever moved to a city or invested
in a city without visiting it first. As such, our visitor economy is the tip of the spear for economic and community development.
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