New Orleans Eyes Tourism Rebound Later this Year

New Orleans tourism officials are asking leisure travelers to wait until the end of the year before returning, and those forced to find alternative destinations range from brides planning dream weddings to conventions of 20,000 people.

The plans of tens of thousands of travelers to visit New Orleans were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. Altogether, New Orleans will lose $3.5 billion in revenue from meetings that are held elsewhere, according to J. Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Two-thirds of New Orleans was subject to flooding that will likely force the demolition of most homes. But historic structures, buildings and gardens in the French Quarter –its main tourism district- survived Katrina with little damage. Nevertheless, officials are asking leisure travelers to postpone their trips for now.

Although 80 percent of New Orleans´ 38,000 hotel rooms will be restored by the end of October, insurance adjusters, engineers and other recovery workers "are literally buying up every room in the city for the next 60 to 90 days," Perry said. In addition, most hotels are reserving 15 to 25 percent of rooms for hotel workers whose homes were destroyed.

But by year´s end, recovery workers will be leaving, more restaurants and clubs will be open, and 95 percent of downtown hotels are expected to be renovated to the standards they had before the storm.

Visiting at Christmastime is a real possibility and also encouraged tourists to return for a scaled-down Mardi Gras on February 28. Major floats used in Mardi Gras parades survived intact and repairs will be carefully done to maintain the architectural integrity of historic areas.