News for the Hospitality Executive |
NEW
ORLEANS, April 14, 2011 -- New Orleans' tourism industry has
achieved a major milestone, welcoming 8.3 million visitors in 2010, a
10.7 percent increase over 2009, and the first time to reach 8 million
visitors since Katrina. Those 8.3 million visitors spent $5.3 billion,
a $1.1 billion increase over 2009 and the highest spending in the
city's history, according to a study released today.
The 2010 New Orleans Area Visitor Profile survey is conducted by the University of New Orleans (UNO) Hospitality Research Center for New Orleans destination marketing partners. Key findings include:
Stephen Perry, president and CEO of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau said, "For the New Orleans hospitality industry and all of its private and public partners, it is energizing to see such strong results. Coming out of the strong economic downturn, and on top of the difficult perception challenges created by the BP oil spill, the city hosted multiple attendance record-breaking conventions, festivals, had strong leisure and transient results and ended the year as the number one fastest-growing destination in the country for hotel performance. The addition of 800,000 visitors gives the city tremendous momentum that we want to keep growing in the coming years." Perry continued, " However, what happens in New Orleans does not stay in New Orleans … all of Louisiana will benefit. Travel and tourism is the seventh highest employer in Louisiana and one out of 10 Louisiana jobs depend on this vital industry. Tourism is the only industry that generates such a high return – for every one dollar invested in marketing and promotion of Louisiana, $17 is returned to the state. " The 2010 New Orleans Area Visitor Profile report also found:
YEAR VISITOR NUMBER SPENDING
In an effort to balance any biases inherent in an online collection methodology, additional sources of data available to the HRC were also used. The additional sources include intercept survey data collected during 2010 events and festivals. Also included were intercept data from the WWII Museum, a TNS e-mail panel of visitors to New Orleans and a faxed-back hotel survey, which helps determine the volume of long-term hurricane-related visitors and the proper visitor mix. When all data were combined, a total of 7,940 usable responses were in the data set. A phone survey of New Orleans residents was also completed to determine the number of people who had friends and relatives stay with them during 2010; this survey has been a part of the methodology since 1999. The survey data were downloaded from the host site, SurveyMonkey.com, once the surveys were closed on January 18, 2011. Staff of the Hospitality Research Center edited the data for accuracy and logical consistency. Statistical software was then used to analyze the data from the visitor surveys. The Hospitality Research Center at the University of New Orleans is a collaborative effort of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration (HRT) and the Division of Business and Economic Research (DBER). Each faculty member of the School of HRT has broad experience in the tourism and hospitality industry and has extensive academic preparation. Working together, in cooperation with the quality professionals in the Division of Business and Economic Research, the UNO HRT/ DBER research program is consistently recognized for research productivity in the hospitality field. The function of the Hospitality Research Center is to provide a variety of research services to hospitality, travel and tourism organizations. SOURCE New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau |
Contact:
Kelly Schulz/Jennifer Day 504-566-5019 [email protected] / [email protected] |