New Orleans' Recovery as of March 2007

Transcription

1 New Orleans' Recvery as f March 2007 New Orleans has always been and remains ne f the wrld's mst intriguing cities and special destinatins. These are the latest facts n its recvery: Ppulatin: Accrding t the City Cuncil f New Orleans the table belw illustrates the current and prjected ppulatins fr the City f New Orleans and the metrplitan area: Parishes Pre- Katrina 1-Jul-06 1-Jan-07 Orleans 484, , ,000 Jeffersn 455, , ,000 Plaquemines 26,757 22,000 25,000 St. Bernard 67,229 19,000 20,000 St. Charles 48,072 55,000 60,000 St. Jhn the Baptist 43,044 49,000 55,000 St. Tammany 191, , ,000 Tangipaha 100, , ,000 Metr Area 1,417,098 1,177,000 1,270,000 Turism Statistics: Mardi Gras 2007 was a resunding success, with an estimated crwd f 800,000 and area htels reprting a 95 percent ccupancy rate thrughut the last weekend f Mardi Gras. It was larger than the 2006 crwds f 700,000, but nt as large as pre-katrina numbers f 1 millin. This year's success insures the future f turism in New Orleans and further illustrates the city's ability t successfully and safely hst large numbers f visitrs. Cultural attractins abund this spring in New Orleans. Harrah's Casin recently debuted a new musical, HATS; the Natinal Wrld War II Museum is hsting an Anne Frank exhibit; the New Orleans Museum f Art pened the exhibitin, Femme, femme, femme, a cllectin f art featuring wmen in French sciety, featuring wrks frm Renir, Degas, Manet, Tuluse-Lautrec and Picass; and the Vatican Msaic Studi is being

2 presented by the Cathlic Cultural Heritage Center f the Archdicese f New Orleans and is being hsted by the Old Ursuline Cnvent. Still knwn as America's mst unique cultural destinatin, New Orleans has received multiple hnrs. The Ls Angeles Times (Feb. 4, 2007) named New Orleans ne f the wrld's "dn't miss destinatins." In December 2006, Orbitz described New Orleans as an "in" lcatin fr experience seeking vacatiners. Travel + Leisure Magazine's January 2007 issue included New Orleans in its "Where t G Next" feature. Zagat has released The 2007 Best f New Orleans Survey. Zagat names New Orleans the 2 nd mst affrdable restaurant city in America. The Survey lists a ttal f 531 lcatins including 390 restaurants, 94 nightspts, 29 turist attractins and 18 leading htels. It is based n the shared experiences f 3,637 avid surveyrs. The turism industry is the largest emplyer in the metrplitan New Orleans area and the secnd largest industry in the state f Luisiana. It includes htels, restaurants, retail, sprting arenas, music venues, museums, galleries and theaters, destinatin management cmpanies and tur peratrs. As the ecnmic engine f New Orleans, turism accunts fr 35% f the City f New Orleans' annual perating budget - $210 millin paying fr jbs, safety, transit, etc. Withut the mney engineered by New Orleans turism, the state wuld have t raise an additinal $3,000 n every family in Luisiana in taxes t cver the deficit. The Ernest N. Mrial Cnventin Center is the single mst imprtant manufacturing plant in the state, prducing an enhanced quality f life. Turism generates $5 billin in visitr spending and mre than $ millin in tax revenues. The htel tax prvides $10.5 millin t the Orleans Parish Public Schls perating budget and is the funding surce f the bnds fr the Superdme and the Cnventin Center. Since Hurricane Katrina, Luisiana has lst mre than $1 billin. Every three mnths results in a net lss f a $1.25 billin buying cycle in New Orleans. An average cnventin delegate generates $1,500 fr the lcal ecnmy during his r her stay. Cnventin visitrs stay lnger in htels, entertain mre in restaurants and spend mre mney in retail shps in the French Quarter and alng the Magazine Street crridr was a recrd breaking year fr New Orleans turism with 10.1 millin visitrs. We were n pace t exceed thse numbers in We will have a mre accurate measure f 2006 visitrs when research begins in the fall.

3 Restaurants: The Luisiana Restaurant Assciatin (LRA) says the current status f New Orleans restaurants is imprving. LRA reprts that there are 1,648 (ut f 3,414) restaurants pen in the metr area. The rganizatin als reprts that the lcal restaurant industry culd immediately emply anther 4,000 peple if they were available. There have been 65 brand new restaurants pened in the city that were nt established befre Katrina, and they are thriving. Htels: Currently there are ver 180 metr area htels and mtels in peratin with 28,500 rms in inventry. In Orleans Parish there are 21,000 rms in inventry and pre-katrina there were 27,000 rms. Als prir t Katrina, in the Greater New Orleans Area there were 265 htels with an inventry f 38,338. Harrah's Htel, the Ritz-Carltn and New Orleans East s Avaln Htel are nw pen. The Hyatt Regency New Orleans will re-pen in the fall f Htel Mnac is slated t re-pen as the Hmewd Suites and The Fairmnt will re-pen after majr cnstructin in the future. The Ritz-Carltn s Iberville Suites will re-pen March 9 t add 230 rms t New Orleans htel inventry. Flights: Prir t Katrina, Luis Armstrng Internatinal Airprt had 162 flights daily, servicing 42 cities with 20,676 seats. As f March 2007, the airprt will service 109 daily flights and 13,106 seats t 32 cities. Operating airlines include: Air Canada, Air Tran, American West, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frntier Air, Jet Blue, Midwest, Nrthwest Air, Suthwest Airlines, United Airlines and U.S. Airways. This summer, the city will welcme ExpressJet, which will add 600 seats with 12 daily, direct flights t Austin, San Antni, Birmingham, Kansas City in Missuri, Jacksnville in Flrida and Raleigh-Durham. Public Transit: Twenty-eight bus lines are running, prviding an average f 23,000 rides daily. While the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line was hard hit, its cars are in peratin n Canal Street dwntwn, ready t treat visitrs t that classic experience. The entire Riverfrnt line, Canal Street line and its Carrlltn spur are peratinal. The Riverfrnt line features a LIFT friendly car painted blue. Prtins f the St. Charles line, in particular, within the Central Business District dwntwn are peratinal t Lee Circle. The entire line, extending up Carrlltn Avenue frm St. Charles Avenue, may be fully peratinal by the end f FEMA is n lnger paying t keep the transprtatin free fares are $1.25 each way, althugh FEMA has cme thrugh with funding t help repair the St. Charles Streetcar line and replace flded streetcars and buses. Transprtatin transfers are $.25; ne-day passes are $5.00 and three-day passes are $12--see the RTA website fr a list f vendrs under the vendrs link. *The blue ADA-accessible streetcar is nt peratinal at this time.

4 The Cnventin Center: The Cnventin Center is fully renvated and peratinal. Nvember 2006 marked the cmpletin f the Mrial Cnventin Center s $60 millin renvatin as it welcmed the largest 2006 citywide cnventin, the 25,000 persn Natinal Assciatin f Realtrs frm Nvember The Center s grand repening was cmmemrated with the Internatinal Wrkbat Shw, frm Nvember 29-Dec 1, as the final 357,524 square feet f exhibit space and 41 meeting rms repened. Three f the Center's 12 halls pened in February fllwed by 5 mre exhibit halls in June; the return f the final fur exhibit halls in Nvember brings the Center back t full peratinal capacity. The fllwing cnventins and meetings are n the bks fr 2007: Feb Mar. 1 - Healthcare Infrmatin & Management Sciety - 24,000 attending Feb Mar. 4 - American Assciatin f Schl Administratrs - 7,000 attending Mar Natinal Cllegiate Athletic Assciatin - 20,000 attending Mar American Cllege f Healthcare Executives - 4,000 attending Mar Internatinal Assciatin fr Dental Research - 6,000 attending Mar American Cllege f Cardilgy - 30,000 attending Apr American Institute f Steel Cnstructin - 2,000 attending Apr Institute f Scrap Recycling - 3,300 attending Apr May 4 - Risk & Insurance Management Sciety - 30,000 attending May 29 - June 2 - American Cllege f Sprts Medicine - 4,000 attending June Merrill Lynch & C., Inc. - 1,000 attending July American Assciatin f Law Libraries - 2,800 attending Sept Natinal Cuncil f State Husing Agencies - 10,000 attending Oct American Cllege f Surgens - 16,000 attending Oct Internatinal Assciatin f Chiefs f Plice - 10,000 attending Oct American Sciety fr Clinical Pathlgy - 5,000 attending Nv American Sciety f Agrnmy - 4,800 attending Nv American Academy f Ophthalmlgy - 25,000 attending Dec Pennwell Crpratin - 17,000 attending The Prt f New Orleans: Prthle Cruise Magazine, a Frt Lauderdale-based bi-mnthly cruise publicatin, recently named New Orleans its 2007 recipient f the publicatin s Editr-in-Chief Award fr Best Cmeback Prt. The Prt f New Orleans is ne f America s fastest grwing cruise prts. Prir t Hurricane Katrina, passenger embarkatins and disembarkatins tpped 750,000. The Prt was pised t break the 1 millin-passenger mark with fur-hme-prted cruise ships and numerus prt calls utilizing its facilities. The cruise industry rebund is underway at the Prt, with passenger embarkatins and disembarkatins prjected t tp 475,000 in In Octber, the Prt pened its $37 millin Erat Street Cruise Terminal and Parking Garage, a state-f-the-art facility featuring a 90,000 square-ft-terminal and 1,000-vehicle parking garage.

5 It has als welcmed back three f its fur hme-prted cruise ships and numerus ther cruise ships have made prt calls, including the Queen Elizabeth 2 in Nvember f In December, the Prt lgged its busiest cruise mnth in its histry, hsting 23 cruise ship calls by seven cruise ships and bringing apprximately 95,000 passengers thrugh the Crescent City. Currently, Carnival Cruise Line s Fantasy sails fur- and five-day Western Caribbean itineraries frm New Orleans and Nrwegian Cruise Line s Nrwegian Sun and Ryal Caribbean's Grandeur f the Seas sail seven-day cruises t Western Caribbean destinatins. The Prt is psitining itself fr future grwth with the additin f a new cruise terminal at its Pland Avenue facility. The prject is currently in the design and engineering phase. When cmpleted, the Prt will have the ability t hst three f the industry s largest cruise ships simultaneusly. Superdme and Arena: The state fast-tracked effrts t restre the Superdme t pre-hurricane cnditins in time t hst a capacity crwd by the Saints seasn pener in September. The Superdme added a significant number f imprvements while under cnstructin, giving the fans a newer, brighter facility. The New Orleans Saints wn against the Atlanta Falcns n Sept. 25 in the first event scheduled fr the Luisiana Superdme since Katrina and clsed ut the seasn with the highest winning recrd t date 10 wins, 6 lsses. The Saints have annunced sell-ut seasn ticket sales fr The New Orleans Arena is fully functinal and re-pened in March The New Orleans Bwl, the AllState Bayu Classic (Suthern Univ. vs. Grambling State), the LHSAA State Farm Superdme Classic (state high schl ftball champinships) and the Allstate Sugar Bwl Ftball Classic (LSU vs. Ntre Dame n Jan 3, 2007) all returned fr the seasn. Fr the 2007 cllege ftball seasn, the Superdme was the first stadium t hst three majr pstseasn games: the New Orleans Bwl, the Allstate Sugar Bwl Classic and the BCS Natinal Champinship Game NBA All-Star events will be held in New Orleans, with the All-Star Game at the New Orleans Arena. Lcal Businesses: Accrding t statistics frm the Luisiana Department f Ecnmic Develpment (LDED) as reprted by the Times Picayune n April 16, 2006, ut f 81,000 lcal businesses in 10 parishes affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 62,300 have repened. Accrding t the LDED, 17,716 f Orleans Parish's businesses have repened. The Luisiana Tax Free Shpping Refund Center is als pen at the Riverwalk n Thursdays and Fridays frm 10:30 a.m. t 3:30 p.m. Shpping: Majr urban shpping destinatins in the city include: The Shps at Canal Place The Riverwalk Jax Brewery Ryal Street and ther French Quarter antiques

6 Miles f eclectic shps n Magazine street Butiques, art galleries and shps are pen thrughut the city. Cultural Institutins: All majr museums have re-pened including: New Orleans Museum f Art Besthff Sculpture Garden The Ogden Museum f Suthern Art Natinal Wrld War II Museum Cntemprary Arts Center Luisiana Children's Museum Aquarium f Americas Hspitals: As reprted by the Luisiana Hspital Assciatin, 11f a pre-katrina 17 acute care hspitals are repened in Orleans and Jeffersn parishes. Orleans Parish: Children's Hspital Elmwd Hspital (replaces Charity) Tur Infirmary Tulane University Jeffersn Parish: East Jeffersn General Kenner Reginal Lakeside Hspital Meadwcrest Hspital Ochsner Clinic Fundatin Omega Hspital West Jeffersn Medical Center Lcal Clleges: University f New Orleans, Tulane University, Lyla, Dillard, Xavier, Delgad Cmmunity Cllege, Suthern University at New Orleans, Sutheastern Luisiana University, Our Lady f Hly Crss Cllege, Nunez Cmmunity Cllege and Luisiana Technical Cllege are all pen. Tulane fficials say the repening f just their campus alne brught back 25,000 students. The New Orleans Turism Marketing Crpratin (NOTMC) prmtes the city as a leisure turism destinatin thrughut the year. Annually, NOTMC's marketing campaigns include strategic print, bradcast, and Internet advertising as well as public relatins. Fr mre infrmatin, please call , r visit ur websites and ###