New Orleans has reached what tourism officials call a “major milestone by welcoming 8.3 million visitors last year, an almost 11 percent increase over 2009.
This marked “the first time the city reached 8 million visitors since (hurricane) Katrina,” tourist officials said.
The study by University of New Orleans (UNO) Hospitality Research Center for New Orleans destination marketing partners found:
• Visitor expenditures increased by $1.1 billion (23.6 percent) in 2009 to $5.3 billion in 2010
• Vacation/pleasure visitors spent an average of $569 per trip or $142 per day
• 77.7 percent of visitors surveyed were in New Orleans for vacation/pleasure
• 22.3 percent of visitors surveyed were in New Orleans for a convention, association, trade show, corporate meeting or general business travel
• 47.9 percent of business travelers extended their stay for pleasure for an average of 2.1 days
• The number of visitors age 25-34, a demographic New Orleans began targeting more aggressively in 2010, saw an increase from 15.4 percent in 2009 to 18.4 percent in 2010
Tourism is New Orleans’ most important economic engine, employing 70,000 people and pumping $5 billion in new capital into the city each year, more than any other business sector.
By David Wilkening
