New Orleans’ hospitality industry is ending 2022 strong. This year we saw the successful return of major events; new cultural products and attractions; and hotel tax collections at an all-time high. Some festivals and restaurants are reporting best-ever attendance in 2022 …not only the best since COVID, but the best ever, which is a great sign for the resurgence of our cultural economy. 

In one weekend recently, New Orleans hosted the French President Macron and First Lady to celebrate shared culture with France as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce biannual Association Committee of 100 (C100) meeting of top CEOs. These dignitary visits prove why New Orleans is Built to Host. We are the perfect destination where business leaders and government officials can come to do business while also immersing themselves in our great culture.  

And, that same weekend we successfully executed a new Children’s Hospital Holiday parade, adding to the appeal of New Orleans as a holiday destination. Holidays New Orleans Style is underway through December 31.  

AWARDS/HONORS:    

  • New Orleans & Company earned the prestigious gold statuette for Best Culinary Destination – U.S.; Silver statuette in Best City Destination – Domestic; and bronze statuette in Best Tourism Board – US at the 8th annual Travvy Awards. New Orleans was also awarded the “Most Desirable City” – Rest of World - by Wanderlust Magazine at the Wanderlust Travel Awards in the United Kingdom. 
  • For more information about the awards click here. 
  • Windsor Court Hotel was voted the No. 1 hotel in New Orleans by Travel + Leisure readers in this year’s World’s Best Awards. Every year Travel + Leisure shares the World's Best Awards survey asking readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe.  
  • To view Travel + Leisure’s 5 Best Hotels in New Orleans click here.   
  • Four Seasons New Orleans and Hotel Saint Vincent have been named to the Travel + Leisure It List 2022, the 100 Best New Hotels in the World.  
  • The Peacock Room at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot was awarded Best Bar in the Hemispheres Magazine 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards. Also featured, the Jazz & Heritage Festival was named the Best Cultural Festival.  
  • The Audubon Zoo has been named one of the 14 best zoos in America by Travellers Worldwide.   
  • Four Seasons New Orleans and Hotel Saint Vincent have been named to the Travel + Leisure It List 2022, the 100 Best New Hotels in the World.   
  • The Grammy Awards announced the list of nominees for the 2023 awards. Several Louisiana artists including PJ Morton, Tank and the Bangas, Lil Wayne, and Dr. John were nominated. The 65th Grammy Awards will air live on Sunday, February 5.  

ATTRACTIONS: 

  • The Audubon Nature Institute announced it will complete its renovation of the Audubon Aquarium of Americas and Insectarium and reopen in June 2023. This project is the biggest renovation of the Aquarium since it opened on Canal Street in 1990. In 2020, Audubon announced it would be moving Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium from the U.S. Custom House on Canal Street to the Aquarium campus on the river, building a combined experience that re-envisions Audubon’s downtown guest experience and educational programming. The new renovation will include approximately 17,000 square feet of new exhibit space constructed inside the existing walls of the Aquarium as well as 2,500 square feet of the existing Aquarium breezeway space that will be enclosed to create a shared public lobby. 
  • Expressions of America premiered at the National World War II Museum on Veterans Day Weekend to rave reviews. Generously presented by the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation, Expressions of America uniquely combines the latest outdoor projection technology with wartime letters and oral histories from the Museum’s collection to allow audiences to experience the stories of the WWII generation like never before. 
  • Disney to open New Orleans themed projects both in the parks and on "the big screen." 
  • A New Orleans vibe will take over the recreated “Haunted Mansion,” a New Orleans-set supernatural comedy.  
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, based off the New Orleans-set movie “The Princess and the Frog”, will take the place of Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. 

NEW HOTELS: 

  • Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, which opened in May of 2021 and home to the acclaimed Peacock Room, announced the new property expansion will be finished in January 2023. The expansion included a new restaurant, King, 33 new guestrooms and suites as well as over 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space. 
  • King, designed by MARKZEFF, will feature a traditional French brasserie with a Mediterranean spin.  
  • The Whitney Hotel, now registered as a National Historic Landmark, is set to reopen in early 2023 following a renovation of the entire building as well as the addition of a restaurant, bar and flower shop.   
  • The Rubenstein family, known for their legendary men’s clothing store Rubensteins on the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue, announced they are turning the upstairs of the building into a 40-room boutique hotel called the Rubenstein Hotel.  
  • The hotel is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year with an opening in February 2023.  

NEW FLIGHTS: 

  • Breeze Airways announced new direct services from Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham to New Orleans starting in February 2023. There will also be one stop services to and from Hartford, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island beginning in February.  

COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY: 

  • The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has achieved its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. 
  • This official certification from the U.S. Green Building Council makes the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana, the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance and the first convention center in the world to be awarded initial certification under Anchor LEED v4.1 O+M.  
  • The latest version of LEED certification, v4.1, raises the bar on building standards for energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality and waste reduction. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:  

  • Celebration in the Oaks, a holiday festivity for over 30 years, returned November 24 and runs through January 1. 
  • The Park transformed into 25 acres of dazzling lights and breathtaking, festive displays. The Park, Botanical Garden, Storyland and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park are all captured with hundreds of thousands of lights to create a winter wonderland here in the Big Easy. 
  • The 9th Annual NOLA ChristmasFest will open at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center from December 21-30. Holiday décor, 300,000 square feet of carnival rides, ice slides, Santa Claus and even an ice-skating rink will be available to attendees. 
  • The 89th Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl returns Saturday, December 31 at the Caesars Superdome and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. The game will feature a pair of top 10 teams No. 5 Alabama, from the Southeastern Conference,  and No. 9 Kansas State University, from the Big 12 Conference.  
  • The Allstate Sugar Bowl New Year’s Parade, a Mardi Gras-style parade with floats and bands will be held on Friday, December 30 at 2:30 pm. The parade will start at the intersection of Elysian Fields Avenue and Decatur Street, travel through the French Quarter up Decatur Street and wrap up along Canal Street. The parade will be broadcast live on WDSU.  
  • Big Night New Orleans New Year's Eve is back for its 10th anniversary in a new location – Mardi Gras World. Big Night New Orleans VIP includes endless full, open bars, multiple party areas and dance floors. The entertainment lineup for this years New Years celebration includes live music from multiple artists including New Orleans’ own Big Freedia, Tank & the Bangas, and Choppa. Plus DJs Lolo Mayhew), Kid Kamillion, Rozay Rell, Pretty Na$ty, and more. 
  • The 71st Miss Universe Pageant on January 14, 2023, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Miss Universe will bring contestants and their delegations from 90 countries, fans, celebrity judges and performers, and hundreds of journalists and global influencers to New Orleans for more than a week to support our cultural economy. 
  • 2022 Festival Calendar Highlights:   
  • For a full list of events, click here. 

To learn more about what is happening in New Orleans’ tourism industry, please read the latest issue of  Tourism Matters or visit neworleans.com.