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Louisiana breaks state tourism record with over 26 million visitors in 2012
DestinationsLouisiana attracted more than 26 million visitors in 2012, breaking a previous tourism record set in 2003. Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne announced the new numbers Tuesday at the state museum in Baton Rouge. Dardenne says the numbers, part of an annual study by the University of New Orleans Hospitality Research Center, indicate that the state’s [...]
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New Orleans Tourism readies launch of national ad campaign
DestinationsNew Orleans tourism promoters are preparing to launch a pitch to a national audience on May 6, with television and digital advertising and a new Internet site designed around the theme, “Follow Your NOLA,” appealing to travelers who prefer open-ended exploration of their destinations. The approximately $4 million campaign will run through August. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing [...]
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New Orleans proposed hotel sales tax increase could affect conventions business
DestinationsThe tourism industry, one of New Orleans’ main economic engines, will be keeping one number in mind as lawmakers debate Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed tax overhaul next month: 15.25 percent. That’s the sales tax rate that visitors would have to pay on hotel rooms in New Orleans if the governor’s plan to supplant state income tax [...]
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New Orleans breaks out of Bourbon St stereotype with record tourism year
DestinationsTourists no longer think of New Orleans as only the French Quarter and food, and they’re returning to spend more time in places they’ve already visited, says the head of the University of New Orleans’ Hospitality Research Center. Just over 9 million tourists and business travelers spent a record $6 billion in New Orleans last [...]
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The local economic impact of the Super Bowl, as visualized by Square
DestinationsAmerican football’s Super Bowl, like all major athletic events, is traditionally a huge boon for the city that hosts it. Analysts estimated that this year’s game, held this past Sunday in New Orleans, Louisiana, would bring $185 million to the city, which is still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The jury is out [...]
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New Orleans is still big, but not any easier: Katrina lingers at the Super Bowl
DestinationsWhile a blimp hovers not too far in the distance, circling over tens of thousands of Super Bowl revelers, Christopher Weaver looks around at the neighborhood where he was born and raised and almost died. He loves this place, probably more now than he did back in 2005, before Hurricane Katrina tried to wash it [...]
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Hotel rates in New Orleans see triple-digit growth in run up to Sunday’s Super Bowl
DestinationsCommitted occupancy and average daily rate are up 51% and 126.9%, respectively, for the Friday-to-Monday period this weekend, according to TravelClick. A significant number of roomnights in the market are contracted out ahead of time to the NFL, which negotiates ADR as far as a year in advance. “Typically, when the NFL comes into a [...]
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Super Bowl fans will pay at least three times the normal cost for a hotel room in New Orleans
DestinationsOut-of-town football fans who plan to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans and are on the hunt for a hotel room better prepare themselves for sky-high dollar signs. According to a new survey from Cheaphotels.org, with just a little over two months to go until game day, hotel rates in New Orleans are skyrocketing [...]
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NOLA residents either love or hate the new streetcar line that’s being built for tourists
DestinationsWith the Super Bowl less than three months away, New Orleans is rushing to lay streetcar tracks through one of its busiest corridors to connect by trolley the Louisiana Superdome and the French Quarter. The Big Easy — which will be the site of the big game Feb. 3 — is no stranger to Super [...]
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New Orleans is getting pretty for the Super Bowl, but cabbies aren’t happy
TransportMayor: New Orleans will be ready for Super Bowl, despite disgruntled cabbies
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As taxi drivers paraded by New Orleans’ City Hall with horns blaring in protest, Mayor Mitch Landrieu made it clear the city won’t back away…
