Businesses have the opportunity to choose any destination point for their conferences and meetings.

They keep choosing Southwest Louisiana.

“We think that is a testament to the quality and service that our partners are able to provide,” said Taylor Beard Stanley, vice president of sales for Visit Lake Charles, while celebrating Global Meetings Industry Day on Thursday. “We love seeing meetings happening here and we want to keep them coming and choosing Southwest Louisiana for many years to come. They’re not just here and they’re gone; that dollar is now invested into our community.”

Global Meetings Industry Day is meant to be a day of advocacy to express how important hosting meetings, conferences and events in communities like Southwest Louisiana is and the economic impact that generates, Stanley said.

In 2024, the U.S. reported more than $126 billion in meeting- and event-related travel spending, supporting nearly 620,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Travel Association. In Southwest Louisiana, Visit Lake Charles hosted more than 129 meetings and events last year, generating $30 million in economic impact.

“That’s nothing to laugh at,” Stanley said. “Economic impact takes into account not only the hotel room rate but also where they’re going to dine and the money that they’re spending at a gas station or a retail outlet.”

That number doesn’t include partnerships area casinos have established with their own clients who have hosted meetings in their facilities.

As the community was celebrating Global Meetings Industry Day on Thursday, L’Auberge Casino Resort was hosting the Louisiana Judicial College, which included the attendance of Louisiana Supreme Court justices.

In addition, L’Auberge will soon be hosting a four-week series, Monday-Wednesday, for OxyChem.

“Those kind of key clients for us are what generate that long-term, sustainable banquet business that helps us invest in our people and invest back in the community,” said Scott Love, vice president of food and beverage at L’Auberge. “Securing jobs goes a long way into having that stability in the community and certainly here at L’Auberge.”

Love said L’Auberge employs about 1,600 people.

“We see in excess of 17,000 folks coming through our convention spaces on an annual basis,” Love said, “and that generates to the community an estimated $8 million.”

Stanley said the reason so many groups keep choosing Lake Charles for their meeting destinations is the region’s hospitality, culture and experiences offered.

“I’d also say that our partners — like L’Auberge and other venues — provide such an amazing service that it keeps those repeat customers coming back,” she said. “Certainly we’re always going out and looking to pull in new business but last year we had a 129 percent repeat business of our clients, which is so impressive.”

Stanley said Visit Lake Charles cannot do what it does without partnerships.

“We don’t have any meeting space of our own so our entire team works with partners in the community to see availability, make sure that they have a meeting space a client is looking for, and it’s that partnership and pulling everyone together and collaboration that really allows us to bring in these meetings and events,” she said. “We also have things that their clients may be interested in like our meeting incentive program or the name badges we can provide for groups. It’s really pulling all of those things together to provide that service.”

Love said the quality of services offered and the use of innovation and technology are pivotal in attracting clients to the area.

“We just put in a significant capital reinvestment into the space so we’re matching what the expectation is, not just the facility itself but our food and beverage offerings,” Love said. “We’re raising the game to ensure we’re mastering the fundamentals. The use of innovation and technology is extremely important and critical for us to continue to be flexible and continue to follow market trends.”

Love said 80 percent of L’Auberge’s business comes from Texas.

“They choose Lake Charles because of the culture, the special nature and qualities of Louisiana, and the community and what that stands for — that Lake Charles charm,” Love said.

Over the last year, there has been about a 3,000-person increase in the hospitality industry, which encompasses things like food service and hotel staff.

“That signifies the growth that we’re experiencing in conferences and conventions and I love that we do has an impact on the people in our community,” Stanley said. “We are giving them opportunities for jobs and keeping them working and that’s really important. The casinos alone are huge employers, but it’s all of those pieces coming together that keep the hospitality industry moving.”

Stanley said she believes Lake Charles is “primed for some very successful years” ahead.