Tourism costs of Katrina to hit £2.7 billion
Hurricane Katrina could cost the Gulf Coast up to £2.7 billion in tourism by the end of the year, according to the Travel Industry Association (TIA).
The TIA says most of the losses are in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana.
The figures emerged as the region was bracing itself for yet another hurricane. Emergency teams have again begun evacuating residents of New Orleans with 500 buses on standby to ferry people to safety.
Hurricane Rita has already battered parts of Florida and Cuba.
Officials say the devastation from Katrina in all three affected states – Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi – is costing the industry £27.5 million a day.
The job and revenue losses make Katrina one of the costliest disasters to hit the travel industry since September 11, with 260,000 travel related jobs likely to be lost either temporarily or long-term. Damage to the aviation industry however is not expected to be as severe.
The TIA and Travel Business Roundtable are among groups creating online job banks to be clearinghouses for travel-related employment across the US.
Report by David Wilkening and Steve Jones
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