New Orleans has more than Mardi Gras

New Orleans is often stereotyped as a year-round Mardi Gras, but tourism officials there want travel agents and others to know there’s much more to do after the party. Leslie Straughan, tourism and sales manager for the New Orleans Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, told TravelMole: “We are Bourbon Street, but we’re much more. I don”t think any city in the world has all the wonderful restaurants we have in our little French Quarter. We also have music and festivals all year round. Also, with Six Flags and our zoo and other attractions, we’re a wonderful family destination.” Her efforts are mainly aimed at US and Canadian travel agents. “We try to cater to the travel industry,” she said. One way of doing that is by offering significant discounts to groups of 20 or so that book a minimum of 10 rooms, she added. The personal level of service for agents at the CVB is high. “When an agent calls me and wants hotel rooms, for example, I forward all the information on to our member hotels. But I also always call back — sometimes as much as 20 times — to make sure everything went right,” said Ms Straughan. The area offers various self-guided fam trips and special hotel rates for agents to experience the city for themselves. She urges agents and others to look at the summer months for lower hotel rates. “In Florida, you have hot weather and high rates. Here, we may have hot weather, but we have lower rates,” she said.