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Last Modified: September 12, 2008Visitor Overview

The tourism business in Shreveport is booming as more and more people from all over America discover Shreveport’s cultural and entertainment attractions while an increasing number of business people find even better reasons to conduct their business in Shreveport where taxes are low and business incentives are high. Shreveport’s casino hotels and horse racetrack attract a steady stream of satisfied visitors who often discover unanticipated bonuses of entertainment at the many different festivals scheduled in Shreveport and Bossier all year round. Louisiana residents happily compete for seats at popular performances given regularly by the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet and the Shreveport Opera and residents are equally fond of Shreveport’s museums, theaters and art galleries.

Tourist attractions in Shreveport

In addition to the casino resorts, the racetrack, and the city’s many cultural offerings, some of the more popular tourist attractions include:

The Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City with over 70 retail outlet stores, restaurants, and an entertainment area containing a 14-screen movie theatre, the Island Fun arcade and Tenpinz bowling
Sci-Port Discovery Center where people of all ages enjoy more than 290 science, technology and math exhibits, an IMAX Dome Theatre and the laser Space Dome Planetarium
The Barnwell Garden and Arts Center featuring a 7,850 sq. ft. domed botanical conservatory dominated by tropical plants
The American Rose Center, a 118-acre park containing more than 65 different rose gardens
The R.W. Norton Art Gallery, which is well known for its collection of American Western art, 19th century American landscape art, and portraits of famous Americans in miniature
The Robinson Film Center, a popular venue for independent films, foreign films and classic old movies.

Shreveport Sports Attractions

Sports lovers are attracted by major sporting events held regularly in Shreveport and Bossier City such as the NCAA Independence Bowl football game, the PGA Nike Golf Tournament and Champion Lake Pro Classic Water-skiing, and also by the surrounding countryside that is well known for being a sportsman’s paradise. Opportunities for swimming, boating and fishing abound on the Red River and at nearby Cross Lake and Lake Bistineau. Hunters abound in the Kisatchie Forest region during deer and quail hunting season. Golf has also become a very popular sport in Shreveport and residents are proud of their local golf legends like Hal Sutton, David Toms, Hillary Duncan and Barbara Fay White. Shreveport contains more than 10 excellent golf courses and many other premier courses such as the Emerald Hills Golf Resort and Cypress Bend are also located nearby.

Why Shreveport was so special to Elvis Presley

Many of Elvis Presley’s fans know that he got his start in Shreveport on the stage of the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium performing for the Louisiana Hayride radio show on October 16, 1954. The visionaries at the Louisiana Hayride managed to get Elvis to sign a contract obligating him to perform every Saturday night for $18. At that time, Elvis saw the opportunity as being a good deal for him but soon Colonel Parker discovered Elvis, bought his contract with the Hayride for $10,000 and proceeded to permanently obviate the idea of there ever being any more $18 performances by The King.

The Municipal Auditorium is a National Historic Site containing the Stage of Stars Museum at 705 Elvis Presley Avenue, which honors famous music legends like Elvis, Hank Williams, Sr., Johnny Cash, George Jones, Huddie Ledbetter, and Shreveport’s own James Burton and Johnny Horton who all got their start on the Louisiana Hayride. The guided tours provided by the Museum are becoming increasingly popular with tourists because they showcase over 1,000 rare photos, personal clothing, and musical instruments played by the entertainers who performed there. Elvis gave 84 shows on the Municipal Auditorium’s stage and it was on December 15, 1956, immediately after he left the Auditorium’s stage at the end of his farewell to Shreveport concert that the famous sentence “Elvis has left the building” was coined.