The marketing value of rolling into the public eye as part of the Tournament of Roses Parade has motivated at least two different state tourism agencies to participate with themed floats.

For the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the organization’s 2025 floatsymbolizing the food, music and cheers of a “Louisiana Saturday night” — marks the group’s fourth year in the parade, said Charlie Whinham, information officer for the Louisiana Office of Tourism.

Each year, it costs $400,000 to build the float and $185,000 to participate as a mid-parade performance, he said.

The return, however, he said, amounts to roughly $23 million in cumulative advertising value equivalent, with Louisiana reaching “billions” of viewers since its involvement in the 2022 parade and generating more than $40 million in earned media coverage.

“The return on investment is incredible,” Whinham said, “and it leads to a very successful number of tourists coming to our state.”

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser shared the positives, which focus on creating good publicity for the state, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

“The Rose Parade is a great way for us to encourage everyone to come to Louisiana to share our music, our food, our culture and ‘Feed Your Soul,'” he said, citing the state’s tourism slogan.

“Given the post-pandemic challenges, our goal at Explore Louisiana was to figure out how we could make a big leap on the national and international stage to ensure Louisiana was a top-of-mind destination for travelers,” said he. “The Rose Parade was a perfect fit.”

By 2022, the state generated $17.1 billion in visitor spending, netting a total of $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to state figures. Louisiana’s leisure and hospitality industry is the fourth largest employer in the state.

Whinham said the idea to get involved in the Rose Parade began during the pandemic.

“Everything was upside down, all businesses, including tourism, and we were looking outside the box,” he said. “The Tournament of Roses Parade became an opportunity to think outside the box and really allowed us to showcase to a large audience what it’s all about coming to Louisiana.”

“Nobody loves a parade like Louisiana, so this was a perfect setup,” he said.

The Mississippi State Department of Tourism received similar recognition this year.

“This is Visit Mississippi’s first year in the parade,” said Katie Coats, director of marketing and communications, “but we’ve already seen excitement locally and regionally through social media,” as well as news articles.

She said the hope is that participation will drive traffic to the state’s tourism website, “and ultimately inspire travel to Mississippi.”

Coats said their float would be seen by 850,000 in-person spectators as it travels the famous 5.5-mile Colorado Boulevard route, along with 27.8 million television viewers in the United States, and many more in more than 60 other countries.

“In addition to the broadcast features, we will promote the float through additional Tournament of Roses events,” she said, such as Floatfest, which gives visitors a closer look at all participating floats in a two-mile showcase was held January 1 to January 3.

Whinham also said the parade itself is not the only promotional feature, but includes initial interviews and stories in the media, as well as exposure in the days following the parade.

“It’s more than just a day of an event for us,” he said, noting that they start getting widespread attention starting in mid-December.

According to the state, Mississippi saw a record 43.7 million visitors in 2023, with $11.5 billion generated in visitor spending. Tourism in Mississippi generated $1.1 billion in total state and local tax revenue.

Hoping to highlight its musical history in its first official year participating in the parade, Mississippi is focusing on a theme called “Two Kings,” which will feature the Chapel Hart Band and singer Brandon Bennett performing portions of songs made famous by Mississippi natives Elvis Presley and BB King. Statue likenesses of the icons will adorn the 2025 float.

This year, Louisiana is focusing on food, using floats to highlight its culinary history with an emphasis on the seafood industry.

“This year’s float will play off of our new marketing campaign … We announced in New York City the last few days that 2025 will be declared the Year of Food for Louisiana,” Whinham said.

Country artist Timothy Wayne will provide entertainment on the float. “We’re really excited to have him on board,” Whinham said.

“The Tournament of Roses Parade is a real showcase for us to showcase our food, our music and our culture,” he said.