New Orleans recovery underway

New Orleans tourist chiefs claim the recovery operation after flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina is ahead of schedule.

It is unlikely that tourists will be able to stay in New Orleans for the next three months although annual Mardi Gras celebrations on February 28, 2006 are now expected to go ahead. 

Business owners in the historic French Quarter have begun returning to the area to start clean-up operations and planning re-openings, according to the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors’ Bureau & Louisiana Office of Tourism.

Power is beginning to return to parts of New Orleans and progress is being made on getting the city’s water and sewerage systems operational again.

The city’s key tourism areas – the French Quarter, Central Business District, Warehouse District and Garden District – plus Algiers and Uptown, were not for the most part flooded and are the first areas to welcome business owners and residents back, a statement from the tourist organisation said.

Residents of Algiers, the French Quarter, CBD and Garden District/Uptown “will incrementally” be allowed back in to their homes from as early as today.  The reopened areas of the city represent 182,000 residents out of a city of nearly 500,000. 

It is estimated that many hotels which were “lightly damaged” they will be back in working condition in less than 30 days. The New Orleans CVB is working on a full assessment of all the city’s hotels. 

The city’s airport re-opened last Tuesday to selected flights but there will be no new cruise ship departures from New Orleans until further notice.

UK & Ireland office sales director Jody Hanson said: “The news over this week has remained incredibly positive and as the recovery operation is moving ahead of schedule, we are hoping that the city of New Orleans will be back on sale sooner than originally expected. 

“The damage within the key tourist areas, such as the French Quarter, Garden District and Warehouse District is minimal and this will mean that these areas will be the first to come back online.

“Although we expect to be welcoming tourists back to the city before the end of the year, Mardi Gras 2006, at the end of February is a definite goal. It will focus attention back onto the things that have made New Orleans such a vibrant and unique city in America, including music, food, history and that famous party spirit.”

Report by Phil Davies