BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) -- Louisiana may have a new influx of tourists following an initiative by Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

Lt. Governor Nungesser and members of the Louisiana Office of Tourism will join other state tourism offices through Travel South USA for a mission to Australia and New Zealand to promote international travel to Louisiana. The group departs tomorrow and returns Saturday, June 24.

Australia remains in the top 15 market of origin for people visiting Louisiana. Of the 53 million visitors who traveled to Louisiana in 2019, more than 38,000 were from Australia. The Australian tourists generated $62.6 million in visitor spending with an average stay of 9 days.

"We have a real opportunity to build a relationship with tour operators and capture both the Australian and New Zealand markets. It's important because our international travelers tend to stay longer and spend more money," said Lt. Governor Nungesser.

In addition to meeting with travel journalists, Lt. Governor Nungesser will hold discussions about film location tourism as well as a meeting with tour operators that promote the most successful international men's rugby team - The All Blacks Rugby Team. Louisiana is under consideration to host the men/women Rugby World Cup in 2031 and 2033.

"Our strong success in the international market over the last several years led to Louisiana being 1 of 6 states to receive $300,000 grant that is being used to increase promotion in three emerging international markets - India, Italy, and Spain," said Lt. Governor Nungesser.

Louisiana's top international markets include Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and France.