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ARTICLE: Shreveport In-Depth

Often thought of as the gateway to the West, Shreveport is Louisiana's third largest city and an important player in its economy. It is also the economic and cultural hub of the Ark-La-Tex area, where Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana meet. This status as a portal city makes Shreveport an attractive place to live and work. Shreveport is a part of the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area, which it shares with Bossier City across the Red River. The area has over 300,000 residents.

Though Shreveport used to be known as a center of the American oil industry, it is now more of a service economy, with much of its money coming from the gambling industry. Several river boat casinos bring in tourists from all over the country. The racetrack in Bossier City is also an important part of this tourism industry. However, gambling isn't the only reason for people to visit Shreveport. The arts are strong, and festivals like Holiday in Dixie, the Louisiana State Fair, and the Red River Revel bring in thousands of visitors, which is why Shreveport is second only to New Orleans for tourism revenue in Louisiana.

In 2005, the per capita income for the Shreveport-Bossier area was $30,004, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. While many of Shreveport's citizens work in the gambling industry, there are many other jobs that have been created by tourism, particularly in hotels and in the new convention center. Shreveport is also known as 'Hollywood South' due to the number of movies that are filmed there. In fact, Louisiana is the third biggest movie producer after California and New York. Shreveport recently installed a huge wave pool for filming scenes at sea. In all, the Shreveport area has a vibrant, growing economy.

Sources:

• Bureau of Economic Analysis
• City of Shreveport

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