New Orleans is Celebrating It’s Economic Success One Fest at a Time

Most recently, NOTMC’s $5.2 million proactive, imaginative and research-based campaign, “Come Out and Play,” features colorful vignettes and lively music from noted local New Orleans trumpeter Jeremy Davenport and touts the city’s greatest assets, its music, food, history and fun.

“Come Out and Play” has yielded astounding results and NOTMC’s continued marketing support has helped major festivals break attendance records, at a time when New Orleans needs visitors the most.

Their recent numbers are unprecedented with The French Quarter Festival seeing as nay as 430,000 attendees, the highest ever this year, compared to 400,000 in ‘07.
6,000 Marathon runners raced in to town for The Mardi Gras Marathon in 2008, compared to the 4,800 that ran in ’07. 

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival saw the highest number of attendees since Katrina with 375,000 – 400,000 attendees in 2008, compared to the 375,000 in ’07.

Essence Music Festival returned to New Orleans, the first weekend of July in 2008
with 270,000 attendees, the highest ever. There were 200,000 in ’07.

New Orleans Seafood Festival and Jazz and Heritage Festival’s Cajun / Zydeco Festival also saw the highest number of attendees ever. It’s no wonder, as th music genre mad its way in to a new Grammy category at this year’s award ceremony. That may have boosted this year’s attendance to: 50,000 compared to 38,000 in 2007.

The highly regarded New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE) is held on Memorial Day Weekend May 25 – 27. The economic impact from the five-day event, which brought in 10,000 attendees in 2008 over a five-day period, was $6.8 million. The impact still impressive in ’07 was $5.4 million.

On the other side of the food and beverage spectrum, Tales of the Cocktails celebrated its sixth festival this past July in the ehart of The French Quarter where 20,000 sippers pulled in to the city, compared to the previous year’s 12,000 in town. Attendees came in from every corner of the globe to celebrate the vibrant culinary and cocktail culture.

New Orleans has long celebrated their signature culinary culture at fests such as NOWFE and at major tables across the city. Cocktails are now stealing the entertainment limelight from their other tablemates, food and wine.

Ask any New Orleanean and they will tell you the cocktail was created in the French Quarter by a chemist. With a liquid history as rich and decadent as the culinary, it is a city worth sipping in to.

This summer the Sazerac became the city’s official cocktail and The Museum of the American cocktail; the first of its kind opened its doors in New Orleans this summer as well. World renown bar stars, the local New Orleans liquid luminary Chris McMillan and the New York based Dale De Groff, the Godfather of the American Cocktail culture, recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Tales, are two co-founders of this groundbreaking museum.

This city of New Orleans has plenty to cheer about. You can raise a glass at any one of their celebrated fests.  Local cocktail tours are available throughout the year, rich in history, filled with good old New Orleans spirit, fun and of course a couple of cocktails.

For more info: www.notmc.com

By Karen Loftus