LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — The Hub City saw a huge turn out for the return of the Carnival season. News Ten’s Caroline Marcello checked in with Lafayette Travel to see how Mardi Gras 2022 compared to past celebrations.

“There’s no question I think everyone was excited to be back for Mardi Gras. The weather was great,” said Ben Berthelot of Lafayette Travel, “The weekend before Mardi Gras is usually our busiest number from a hotel standpoint although the crowds on Mardi Gras day were certainly outstanding.”

Berthelot says that preliminary numbers from the weekend before Mardi Gras are ahead of where we were in 2020, 2019, and 2018. He says so far that’s as far back as he’s gone.

“The weather helps tremendously we’ve had bad weather for Mardi Gras in years prior to COVID. A lot of our traffic is drive traffic. People decide within a few days leading up to Mardi Gras whether they’re going to come or not. To have the great weather certainly helped.”