A Tale of Two Cities
by Stephen Perry
Today, New Orleans truly tells a tale of two cities.
The most celebrated and historic core of the city remains intact, both physically and spiritually. The eclectic mix of cultures, arts, architecture and all the sensual indulgences that define the New Orleans experience continue to flourish, as they have for centuries.
In other areas of the city, community and infrastructure have been battered, but the soul of those neighborhoods perseveres in other ways: it shows through in the resolve of our citizens to return, rebuild and recover despite immense challenges. Those residents and business owners, along with our elected officials, wrestle daily with the most difficult questions about the revival of New Orleans’ hardest hit areas. Their path may not be imminently clear, but their vision is our vision: a new New Orleans that blends the very best of this great city’s past and fulfills its bright promise for the future.
The tourism industry has been proud to take some of the first – and most important – steps forward toward that bright future. The city's leading employer, tourism is responsible for $7 billion in economic impact for New Orleans and nearly 40% of the city's budget. Tourism is inextricably tied to the city’s cultural as well as its economic identity; tourism is necessarily New Orleans’ catalyst for recovery.
We have taken that charge to heart. Our industry has united with a renewed determination and a singular dedication to delivering the New Orleans experience visitors remember and love. Now, we are ready, eager and able to welcome the world back.
Our Central Business District, the French Quarter, the Arts District with The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the National World War II Museum, Faubourg Marigny, Audubon Zoo, Aquarium and IMAX Theater, Garden District and St. Charles Avenue are bustling and back to business. The historic and cultural experience that attracts more than 10 million people to New Orleans each year is as charming and welcoming as ever. There are more than 27,000 hotel rooms available, and our famed restaurants and music clubs are humming. A very special Mardi Gras welcomed over 750,000 revelers, closely followed by the internationally celebrated New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, with more than 350.000 enjoying the incomparable line-up of music, great food and craft.
Over the past six months, the city has welcomed senior government officials and business executives from around the world. Without exception, they have expressed sincere enthusiasm (if not pleasant surprise) for the remarkable recovery of the city: what the New York Times called the "Comeback of the Year."
Recently, the Honorable Carlos Gutierrez, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, led a group of national business executives on a domestic trade mission to New Orleans, meeting with local business and community leaders to explore investment and business opportunities in the new New Olreans, emphasizing the investment possibilities on the horizon.
President George W. Bush has made several visits to New Orleans since Katrina; one one of his last visits, the NOMCVB hosted him at our headquarters, marking the first time in history that the President of the United States visited a CVB (and stayed for almost 2 hours). President Bush has consistently remarked upon the stunning fact that New Orleans’ famed historic attractions, hotels, restaurants and neighborhoods have reopened, are flourishing and are welcoming tourists sooner than anyone could have imagined possible. The First Lady, Laura Bush, has remained committed to the city’s historic preservation and restoration and also continues to visit the city regularly.
President Bush, like all of our recent guests and site visitors, has met directly with the heads of agencies in public health, environmental quality and levee safety, as well as the airport and the hotel association, to get unvarnished answers and assurances. And he – like an increasing number of associations, conventions, companies and leisure travelers – is celebrating a New Orleans that is back in business.
It’s no surprise that so many leisure tourists, tour groups and tour series are starting to pour back into the city. They are coming as much to partake of our internationally famous culture as to be a part of this exceptional city's rebirth. Residents are encouraged by that outpouring of support, and are eager and ready to welcome them in increasing numbers.
For now, New Orleans will remain a tale of two cities. Which is why the tourism industry will continue to provide leadership and a coordinated effort to assure visitors and travel industry professionals of an uncompromising New Orleans experience as it works to speed the recovery in core affected areas. Which is why sending visitors to New Orleans is something beautiful, historic and important.
