From the Gulf of Mexico, to the Cajun Prairie, Vermilion Parish is huge. Over 1500 square miles of land, marsh, lakes, and bayous.
Alison Miller, the Tourism Director of Vermilion Parish says there's so much you can still do outside, without many restrictions! "Just south of Abbeville, I guess what you can call it, is our Cajun Outback. Where you can see crawfish ponds, rice fields, and maybe catch a glimpse of some alligators, plenty of birds because you know we're on a migratory flyway. We also have Palmetto Island State Park, so you can do some hiking and fishing, so there's a lot of outdoor activities that you can enjoy right here in South Louisiana."
But it wasn't easy during the lock downs and tourism did slow quite a bit. So they needed to change their strategy. Miller adds, "We took our marketing dollars on a smaller drive market, more like a 30 minutes to a one hour drive. Kind of advertising more in New Orleans and Baton Rouge area to try to get the immediate visitors."
But what about festivals that are just around the corner? "Most of our spring festivals have postponed until next spring, just because it takes a long time to plan. But most of our summer and fall festivals are kind of just waiting, making preparations, maybe scaling back the festivals a little bit. If we can get the all clear and do it safely, then we're ready to go.
And why choose most Cajun Place on Earth? Miller says, "We're an affordable trip, just a few short hours from our major cities. We're a quick drive to where you can get some really great food and hopefully come this fall, some really cool festivals!"
