Meeting explores the things that make St. Mary St. Mary

PATTERSON — As Greg Fuson toured St. Mary Parish recently, he saw an alligator in the water — not exactly a rare sight in these parts.
Then, not far away, he saw a slide leading into the water.
“That doesn’t happen in Tennessee,” Fuson said.
Fuson and Steve Chandler of Chandler Thinks, a Franklin, Tennessee, company, were at the Patterson Area Civic Center on Wednesday to explore what makes St. Mary unique, and what might bring tourists to the parish.
They’ve been hired by the Cajun Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau to take a look at the St. Mary brand and help direct the right kind of message to the people who are looking for what the parish has to offer.
“All we do is work with destinations to help them be the best they can be,” said Chandler, whose company gets credit for developing a successful Lafourche Parish local restaurant tour.
Tourism marketing is self-funding, Chandler said. Visitors pay for the effort by paying a tax on hotel stays.
And if they do stay overnight, they spend three to five times more than the average day-tripper, Chandler said. Visitors pay other taxes, too, helping the community fund itself.
“The goal of tourism is to bring money into a community,” Chandler said. “That’s the only reason we’re here. …
“It’s really important, not just for business owners but for other people, too.”
Cajun Coast’s online presence is likely to be part of the effort.
Chandler quoted figures saying 80% of all travel research by potential visitors is conducted online. And 75% of travel and accommodation bookings are done through the internet.
They’ve already conducted focus groups. Wednesday’s meeting was about gathering public input from a crowd of about 20 that included public officials and people involved with potential tourism destinations.
Fuson said he saw a package of bars of soap at a Louisiana shop, each bearing a name like Rougarou and Swamp Thing. The purchaser will take a little bit of Louisiana home with the soap. And that’s part of the branding Chandler Thinks is looking for.
Participants were able to use their phones to post responses on a projection screen at the meeting as Fuson and Chandler asked questions about St. Mary’s tourism potential.
The general questions drew the responses locals will be familiar with. What makes St. Mary unique? Its history, its food, its outdoor life, its culture. Other responses went beyond the usual suspects: birding, golf and the work of local artisans.
What visual images evoke St. Mary? The answers included cypress trees, Spanish moss and the pelican.
What tastes make us think of the parish? The words “spicy,” “roux” and “gumbo” appeared on the big screen.
Participants expressed pride in the local cuisine. At one point, the talk turned to the unpopular practice of including tomatoes in gumbo, and to a popular soup brand’s version of gumbo, which bears little resemblance to the authentic local variety.
Chandler, sitting in back at that point, jumped up as though to form a posse.
“Let’s get ’em, fellas!” he said, drawing a laugh from the crowd.
In other tourism news, Louisiana will be represented by a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The float “will celebrate the birthplace of jazz, Cajun and Creole cuisine, and Mardi Gras in true Louisiana fashion …,” the Lieutenant Governor’s Office said in a press release. “The 60-foot-long, alligator-themed float will encourage millions of spectators along the Parade route, and millions more on television to celebrate in Louisiana style.”
The float will consist of “a colorful street view of Louisiana: a blend of the New Orleans French Quarter architecture with heavy influences of Spanish colonial rule and Creole fashion. In addition to celebrating the state’s unique fusion of European, Caribbean, African, and Native American cultures. … [The float] will include participants dressed in lavish baby gator costumes, as well as a team of stilt walkers, all done in an elaborate celebration of Louisiana traditions for millions of spectators in New York City and TV viewers across the nation.”