Celebrating its two hundredth year, Jefferson Parish is looking toward the future, promoting business and tourism to help the next century be even grander than the last. Violet Peters, CDME, President & CEO of Visit Jefferson Parish, and Terrie Birkel, CDME, COO & Vice President of Marketing, lead a team of hospitality specialists who market and sell Jefferson Parish as a diverse destination offering unique venues and experiences for tournaments, group tours, festival revelers, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone seeking great food and fun! Tourism is big business in Jefferson Parish, garnering $2 billion in visitor spending and employing over 20 thousand people.
“We’ve really embraced the evolution of Jefferson Parish over the years, from the Jean Lafitte fishing community, which has become a major tourism destination for swamp tours, to our metropolitan areas,” says Violet. “It’s incredible to see how in 2025, Jefferson Parish has morphed from a humble suburb to something far more grand and progressive, while maintaining its culture and traditions”.
As part of the two-hundredth celebration, Jefferson Parish is creating a bicentennial timeline where businesses are able to talk about their shared history and highlight how they have grown and contributed to the larger community. These efforts hope to empower local business owners and residents to become ambassadors of Jefferson Parish to the larger community and to the rest of the world.
“We have such a rich and diverse parish,” says Terrie. “This celebration is an opportunity to really come together and showcase what makes Jefferson Parish unique”.
Visit Jefferson Parish
1221 Elmwood Park Blvd. Ste. 411, Harahan | Visitjeffersonparish.com
terrie@visitjeffersonparish.com | violet@visitjeffersonparish.com
