New Orleans & Company April 2026 CEO Update

Dear Friends of New Orleans & Company,

What a historic and glorious day we had at the opening of the new Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park, which now stands as one of the longest contiguous riverfront parks in the country! This development is transformational for our riverfront, our residents and our visitors, and will give the city a competitive advantage when we pursue major events. We congratulate the Audubon Nature Institute for leading this project and are proud that New Orleans & Company along with the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center were a part of the early investor team to bring this park to life. We should be so proud of this milestone, as well as other recent accomplishments outlined here.

Photo Credit: Audubon Nature Institute. From left: Jim Cook, Walt Leger III, Mike Sawaya, Mayor Landrieu, Bill Goldring, Mayor Moreno, Council Member King

We continue to build momentum with a diverse layering of spring business including the American College of Cardiology citywide convention, a sold-out Crescent City Classic, Easter parades and festivities, multiple galas and special events, Hogs for the Cause and the inaugural Hondo Rodeo. In a WDSU interview this weekend, Hondo Rodeo Fest CEO James Trawick confirmed the event would return to New Orleans for 2027 and we can’t wait to welcome them back! Hogs for the Cause welcomed huge crowds to the UNO Lakefront Festival Grounds this weekend and raised a record-breaking $6.65 million for pediatric cancer, a testament to the vision and dedication of the leaders of Hogs for the Cause and power of coming together…when people travel and gather for a good cause, they can in fact change the world for the better.

We are days away from the 2026 French Quarter Festival. With 302 performances and 45 debuts across 20 stages and the official parade, Grammy Award-winning headliners, a brand-new riverfront experience,over 70 local culinary vendors and the French Quarter Festival 5K Run presented by LCMC Health, this year’s festival is the biggest and boldest yet. And the iconic Jazz Fest is right around the corner…

New Orleans continues to receive national accolades … for example, The Washington Post named us “one of the seven most walkable cities where you don’t need a car to have fun” and Food & Wine named us number four on the top 10 US cities for food and drink. Our newest destination video, How Glad Am I - designed to elevate how we tell the New Orleans story to meeting planners, received several ADDY awards for excellence. For a full list of awards, please click here.

Everything we do at New Orleans & Company is designed to inspire, promote and encourage travel to our city for the economic, social and community benefit of New Orleans and its people. Below are a few highlights of our work toward achieving our strategic goals.

Strategic Goal One: Deliver the Most Innovative and Exceptional Sales and Service

• Achieving Goal - In an increasingly competitive environment, our Convention Sales team achieved 121.3% of its first quarter goal, totaling 388,017 confirmed hotel room nights into the future. That means jobs, direct bookings for our hotels, and economic impact for our city, state and region. When travelers stay in hotels it means business for our restaurants, tour guides, shops, cultural attractions, museums, music venues and more. Congratulations team.
• On the Road - We recently brought our “Built to Host” approach to Chicago through a coordinated sales mission, led by SVP of Convention Sales & Strategies Stephanie Turner, alongside key partners from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and Caesars New Orleans. The team and I engaged clients through one-on-one meetings, a networking luncheon, and an evening reception, while also connecting with media including NBC Chicago and Meetings Today. The mission showcased the strength of a unified, New Orleans-first approach.

Strategic Goal Two: Make New Orleans a Great Place to Live, Work and Visit

• Get Moving – The First annual Fit Fete is just around the corner…Early registration is now open for the 2026 New Orleans Community Games, a new corporate and community competition designed to promote workforce wellness, teamwork, and service across our great region. Beginning this month, registered teams can begin competing in a series of events and challenges leading up to the Community Games, which will culminate on November 13 at City Park as part of Fit Fête New Orleans. While Community Games will serve as a critical pillar of Fit Fete, the event will also host the return of the New Orleans Marathon as well as the Well NXT Wellness Festival.
• An International Honor - Congratulations to New Orleans & Company Membership and Events Manager Jenna Theriot for being named to the Destinations International (DI) 30 Under 30 class of 2026! DI is the world's largest global association and resource for destination marketing organizations, CVBs and tourism boards, representing 7,500 professionals across 750 organizations in 34 countries. Check out the full list here. Previous New Orleans & Company DI 30 Under 30 honorees include Olivia Celata Markase of Tourism and Lauren Saizan of Marketing.

Strategic Goal Three: Create and Own a Clear, World-Class Brand for New Orleans

• Positive PR – The April 5th episode of 60 Minutes featured an absolutely stunning 13-minute segment on the Black Masking Indian culture and Big Chief Demond Melancon, produced with support from Mary Beth Romig, Larry Everage and Rhonda Cook of New Orleans & Company’s Marcomm team. This is one of thousands of positive stories we place each year, this one highlighting one of our sacred cultural traditions. If you missed it, please watch it here.
• Hot off the Press – Presenting our first quarter issue of Tourism Matters, full of optimistic news about our city and New Orleans & Company’s impact. It includes a cover story on Vision 2035, an employee spotlight of Executive Vice President Alice Glenn, features on the New Orleans Opera Association, Brennan’s Bananas Foster and the Big Chief Feather Trust and more. Tourism Matters, published in Gambit and The Advocate, is designed to educate Louisiana residents about tourism benefits our entire city and state.

Strategic Goal Four: Build International Tourism

• Engaging Global Customers - Thu Tran represented New Orleans at Travel South International's Pan-European mission, conducting one-on-one meetings and networking sessions with international travel buyers in Paris and London. Also in attendance were buyers from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Ireland. Travel South International, a coalition of Southern U.S. tourism suppliers, facilitated these partnership-building opportunities in an immersive networking environment.

In closing, I hope to see you during National Travel & Tourism Week, May 4-8, when we will have a series of events to celebrate the people who power our industry. You don’t want to miss our May 8th luncheon at the Hyatt Regency, featuring a keynote speech from Mayor Helena Moreno and a presentation of Industry Champion awards. Get your tickets today here.

Thanks for your partnership.

Sincerely,

Walter J. Leger III President & CEO New Orleans & Company