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Return of air service a sign stricken New Orleans is coming back
Commercial airline service is returning quickly to New Orleans and tourism officials are fighting for a quick comeback from Hurricane Katrina.
The hurricane on 29 August destroyed the city’s critical business conventions for the rest of the year. The estimated cost: $3.5 billion.
And 28 of the 70 major conventions scheduled for next year have been cancelled, according to tourism officials.
The convention district that has downtown hotels and the convention center, as well as the nearby French Quarter, however, came out with little damage compared to other areas.
The convention center is under repair and is set to host its first post-storm meeting next April.
Hotel rooms in the city remain hard to get.
Only 24 of the 266 hotels in New Orleans are now open to the public, said Smith Travel Research. Relief workers have taken over many of the available rooms.
But tourism officials viewed as an encouraging sign the World Trade Centers’ Association becoming the first major group to book a New Orleans convention in 2007. The Association involves 278 private economic development groups.
Tourism officials hope to restore public confidence in the city.
“The elements that make up the tourist experience in New Orleans are there. It’s really significant for us to get the word out,” Jeff Anding, director of convention marketing for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, told the Associated Press.
Delta Air Lines was the latest carrier to announce it would add three daily nonstop flights from Atlanta to New Orleans starting 1 December. It will now have seven daily flights between Atlanta and New Orleans.
“We have been encouraged to see the return of such strong customer demand for service between New Orleans,” said Delta vice president Bob Cortelyou.
Southwest is also introducing new service to the city starting 12 November.
“Our load factors have been high, and we are pleased to be rebuilding our New Orleans service,” said Joyce Rogge, a Southwest Airlines senior vice president.
Ironically, before the hurricane, New Orleans was building on a record 2004 when it had 10.1 million visitors.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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