The earth and water in the Teche region shape our culture and history, provide the materials for our crafts, inspire our art, food and music and are the subject of our stories. Our earth and water have directed our endeavors and activities and spurred our industry. The land in the Bayou Teche region as well as the Teche itself has captured our hearts and souls. We are unique products of this interaction of earth and water.

The region’s captivating story is something to share with others and something that will attract visitors to our region. Our special story can be the basis of what is called cultural/historic tourism. Economically, promoting cultural/historical tourism in the Teche region can be a gold mine. Such efforts will reinvigorate efforts to preserve and restore our unique heritage.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines heritage tourism as “traveling to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.”

Economically, cultural/heritage tourists spend more money, stay longer, are more affluent and educated and are more likely to add extra time at a destination. Heritage/cultural tourism is not just about attracting new visitors but attracting more “high-value” visitors. Heritage tourism is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the U.S.

These tourists generate jobs and businesses; strengthen and diversify the local economy; increase tax revenues; spend more; increase historic attraction revenue; generate local investments in historic/cultural/artistic resources; build community pride and most importantly help to preserve local traditions and culture.

The elements for successful cultural/heritage tourism are already in New Iberia. Heritage tourism components are uniqueness of location, attractiveness of tourist attractions, ease of access, government support, local community involvement, availability of facilities and infrastructure, quality of human resources, effectiveness of marketing and promotion efforts, and tourist motivation. The Iberia African American Historical Society and Shadows collaborative recent exhibit on local history and archaeology at the Shadows well exemplifies that the needed components of heritage tourism are already present in New Iberia.

Cultural/heritage tourism will make that sense of place that we have in the Teche region, where there is a memory on every street corner, available to others and they will come. Heritage tourism is simply visiting a place to experience those singular qualities that define its character, signify its essence, and provide for its collective memory. Our cultural heritage is found in our people, our buildings, our waterways, our historic sites, our landscapes and our artifacts. Our heritage is expressed in our crafts, visual and performing arts, food, history, literature and oral traditions. These features are on full display at the Shadows, the Bayou Teche Museum, the projects of the Iberia African American Historical Society and Iberia Cultural Resources Association programs.

New Iberia has an unprecedented opportunity to develop heritage tourism. There is a myriad of concrete and psychological advantages in doing so. Our past is part of us now and in the future. Let’s celebrate it and offer it to all. “Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dr. John W. Ray, a New Iberia native, is a professor emeritus of political science and political philosophy at Montana Technological University, Butte, Montana. He was born in New Iberia, graduated from Catholic High School and USL and still regularly visits home to see friends and family.