05 September 2008

New Orleans Hospitality Industry Coming Back Strong after Gustav

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is happy to report that hotels and restaurants in New Orleans are rapidly re-opening throughout the tourism corridor as residents and employees return to the city.

The historic French Quarter, the Warehouse and Arts District, the Convention Center area, and the downtown business district suffered very little damage and for the most part did not even lose power during the height of the storm. The New Orleans Morial Convention Center had virtually no problems and looks forward to its September meeting calendar with no disruptions.

The Louisiana Superdome also fared perfectly and is ready to rally the city once again and host the Saints season opener against Tampa Bay on Sunday, September 7th. The Louis Armstrong International Airport is open and handling routine airline traffic today. And the Maple Leaf Bar uptown was rocking to live music Wednesday night. Only in New Orleans.

The major hotels suffered only minor damage such as a few window breaks and all repairs are expected to be accomplished in the next few hours to few days. There will be virtually no disruption to meetings and conventions or special events scheduled over the next two weeks. There is no mid- or long-term impact of any kind. Hotels are managing weddings and lots of visitors this weekend. New reservations are being taken at some properties now with most of the remaining hotels opening their reservation systems over the next couple of days. By next week and the following weekend, nearly all hotels will be back to their full levels of service.

The world's greatest collection of restaurants is rapidly coming back on line. Many restaurants are opening as you read this and the vast majority will be open fully this weekend to serve visitors and New Orleans huge food craving population.

Harrah's Casino will re-open Saturday night at 6:00 pm. with a rousing trademark New Orleans Second Line parade. All of the great animals at the nationally famous Audubon Zoo did exceptionally well, and the Zoo is excited to aim for a re-opening on Saturday!

Visitors should of course check with their hotels before arriving to re-confirm their reservations.

As our team walks around the French Quarter, Convention Center area, Warehouse and Arts District, and downtown, we see that those parts of the city look amazing for having just had a major Hurricane pass through. Visit www.neworleansinfo.com for photos.

Superb Execution of Emergency Plans

New Orleans' tourism community proved to be exceptionally well prepared for Hurricane Gustav. In fact, the city is receiving positive national media coverage for its preparedness and the outstanding leadership of government officials. The evacuation of some 30,000 visitors to the city last weekend in less than 24 hours went exceptionally well and almost flawlessly followed the emergency plan established after Hurricane Katrina.

Today, New Orleans is proud to not only be the nation's leader in fun, food, music and major cultural and sporting events, but now to be the most sophisticated destination in the world in all levels of emergency planning, execution and visitor management.