Tourism to New Orleans back to pre-Katrina levels
Visitor numbers to New Orleans returned to pre-Hurricane Katrina levels for the first time in March.
The number of meetings and convention visitors to the city reached 83,000, 10,000 more than the March prior to the hurricane in August 2005.
The city’s tourism boss is now on a week-long tour of Europe to encourage more international visitors back and dispel fears that New Orleans is still a disaster zone.
An “irreverent” new $5 million advertising campaign designed to lure travellers back to the ‘Crescent City’ is about to be launched and a new internet marketing strategy is being created.
Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently bought an eight-bedroomed house in New Orleans. Pitt has just completed filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the city. Co-starring Cate Blanchett and with a budget of $150 million, it is the most expensive film to have been shot in the city.
A new city assisted evacuation plan was agreed three weeks ago giving the city’s mayor powers to order a mandatory evacuation 30 hours before hurricane winds begin. More than $1 billion in public money is being put forward to attract private investment in rebuilding work across 17 redevelopment zones.
While many outlying neighbourhoods of the ‘Crescent City’ were left devastated by the worst natural disaster in US history, tourist areas such as the famous French Quarter and the Warehouse Arts District were largely untouched.
As hotels, restaurants and bars suffered a post-Katrina visitor slump, many spent time improving their facilities, according to Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“A lot of hotels took business disruption insurance and upgraded, as a result we have the freshest hotel product in 20 years,” he said.
“The tourism industry and cultural economy has led the recovery, that is the heart and soul of the city ands yet internationally there is not the awareness of the positive recovery.”
Admitting that the first six months after Katrina was “incredibly difficult” and the pace of recovery in the first year was “incredibly slow,” Perry said arrival numbers began accelerating last autumn. Almost 900,000 attended Mardi Gras celebrations in February and a further 500,000 are expected for the 38th annual Jazz & Heritage Festival on April 27-May 6.
He said there was a “palpable feeling of change” and a new vibrancy to the city, although the overall tourism business is still only 75% of pre-Katrina levels.
Perry said he hoped the EU-US open skies agreement would encourage airlines to consider starting direct flights from the UK to New Orleans.
“We would love to see Virgin flying direct to New Orleans from Heathrow,” he said.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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