Dear Friends of New Orleans & Company,  

The positive momentum we built in the first quarter has only grown in recent weeks. With solid turnout at French Quarter Fest, Jazz Fest, and the Zurich Classic, to the announcement of UFC 318 coming to the Smoothie King Center in July, our team continues to showcase why New Orleans is Built to Host.

While we have had a relatively strong start to the year, the New Orleans & Company team is keenly focused on driving summer business, and monitoring what appears to be dipping domestic traveler demand in response to the current economic uncertainty. While it has not been a major issue, we are fielding questions from international visitors and customers about traveling to the United States at this time. This article from Axios explains Canada specifically and CNBC reported on weakening domestic travel demand. The Federal Reserve published its Beige Book with economic trends. As always, we will adapt and are prepared to adjust strategies as needed for the benefit of our community and reinforce that in New Orleans, everyone is welcome!

We are tracking a number of important bills in the current legislative session that will have long-term impact on our industry’s success. And, we are creating a ten-year vision plan for the community with collaboration from many stakeholders, to ensure that we can advocate for a strong community in which to live, work, visit and invest and hopefully help to support a diverse economy that can benefit our entire community and our industry.

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 some of the high points of the work our team is doing toward our strategic goals.

Strategic Goal One: Deliver the Most Innovative and Exceptional Sales and Service
  • The Convention Sales team achieved 185% of their 312,000-room night goal with 572,519 room nights booked in the first quarter. The team continues to book business in the short and long term, with booking into the year 2040.
Strategic Goal Two: Make New Orleans a Great Place to Live, Work and Visit
  • We launched a corporate microsite creating better visibility on company initiatives and the value of our industry: neworleansandcompany.com.
  • Next week is National Travel and Tourism Week. Our team will be participating in various events throughout the week, including Rideshare/Taxi Appreciation Day on Monday, May 5, making deliveries at 20 member businesses for Random Acts of Kindness and hosting a tent at Wednesdays at the Square.
  • On Thursday, May 8th, our sold-out National Travel and Tourism Week Luncheon at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside will feature a keynote speaker - New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, as well as Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser. We also will celebrate hospitality industry champions with several awards.
Strategic Goal Three: Create and Own a Clear, World-Class Brand for New Orleans
  • The Marketing team launched an 11-week multichannel brand campaign on April 15 targeting culture seekers and luxury travelers across 41 markets. The campaign has a specific call-to- action to plan a trip to New Orleans.
  • We also successfully executed a brand partnership and sweepstakes with Roundabout Theatre Group’s new Broadway production of Pirates! The Penzance Musical starring David Hyde Pierce and Jinx Monsoon and set in New Orleans. Our goal is to inspire and connect with affluent New York theater patrons who are frequent travelers.
  • Our PR team continues to work with journalists from around the world to shape the narrative of New Orleans as a great place to live, work, visit and invest. Please read these two articles from The Times, one of Britain’s oldest newspapers, by Mike Atkins and Family Traveller, one of the world’s most influential family travel media brands, by Andrew Dent.
Strategic Goal Four: Restore International Tourism
  • New Orleans & Company took a lead role as a presenting sponsor at the London Travel Gossip Awards Ceremony. Travel Gossip Magazine recognizes outstanding achievements for the UK travel trade industry. We invited top-producing clients as our guests to this highly anticipated event. Sales calls and training were conducted in London and Dublin with tour operators currently featuring New Orleans and new operators from the South.
  • New Orleans was invited to host one of six groups throughout the US in a multifaceted Latin America FAM program organized by Brand USA. Top-selling travel advisors and tour operators from Mexico, Colombia and Brazil participated in an educational itinerary on how to promote and sell New Orleans. All six groups culminated in Houston for a Mega FAM finale.

We hope you continue to enjoy spring festival season, a beautiful time for our visitors and for all of us who are fortunate to call this city home. We will talk soon.

Sincerely, 

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