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New Orleans' monthly Media Update covers the latest travel and tourism developments around town. Please email communications@neworleans.com to be added to our media mailing list.

What’s New in New Orleans Hospitality Industry – October 2021

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

• Krewe of Boo returned for the first time since 2019 after not parading in 2020.

  • The parade required all riders and members of marching groups to be vaccinated, or show proof of a negative COVID test in order to participate.

  • This was the first parade in the city in 20 months and proved that New Orleans is thriving.

• The Fall Food Celebration, going on now through November 18, is designed to provide support to New Orleans restaurants that have lost business dur to the recent Delta surge and Hurricane Ida.

  • More than 235 restaurants are participating. 

  • The goal of the campaign is to support New Orleans chefs, servers, cooks, suppliers, bartenders, drivers, kitchen staff, restaurant owners, managers and all those who make their living by a thriving restaurant industry.

• Prospect.5 New Orleans (P.5) is taking place now through January 23rd, 2022. 

  • The exhibition features an intergenerational group of artists from the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, and will include both existing and newly commissioned projects. 

  • Artists will employ diverse readings, interpretative models and various forms to create a nuanced interrogation and retelling of history that is attuned to our complex era. 

  • Due to Hurricane Ida, P.5 will open across the city in stages from late October to mid-November. The first wave of openings will take place on October 23rd. Prospect anticipates that all projects will be live and open to the public by November 13th. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• NOLA x NOLA, created by a proactive coalition of New Orleans entertainment-focused nightclubs and music venues, is a branded series of smaller live music events around the city that took place during the previously scheduled New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, October 8th-17th, 2021.

  • Designed to safely and immediately support clubs, musicians and culture bearers in a time of financial peril, NOLAxNOLA is set to become an annual tradition, created in 2021, but lasting and growing for many years beyond.

  • The inaugural music series was widely successful featuring more than 300 shows at over 35 music venues including the Orpheum Theatre, Preservation Hall and Tipitina’s taking part.

• Holidays New Orleans Style is a New Orleans & Company website featuring all the events that make December in New Orleans special as well as hotel deals and restaurant options.  

  • Holiday Festivities include caroling in Jackson Square, bonfires on the levees, and a multitude of holiday lights venues.  

• Queen Nefertari’s Egypt will be on display at the New Orleans Museum of Modern Art from March 18th to July 17th, 2022. 

  • Queen Nefertari was the royal wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II and is known through a complete temple consecrated to her in Abu Simbel. 

  • Her tomb, the largest and most richly decorated in the Valley of the Queens, was discovered in the early 20th century by a team of archaeologists led by Ernesto Schiaparelli. 

  • The 230 works presented in Queen Nefertari’s Egypt will be on loan from the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy. 

• Mardi Gras officially kicks off Monday, January 5th, known as Twelfth Night. Parades start on Jan. 6th with two parades in the French Quarter and Uptown, each, and roll through Tuesday, March 1st, 2022.  

  • For more information visit https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/.  

• 2022 Festival Calendar Highlights: 

  • French Quarter Fest, April 21st – 24th, 2022

  • New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, April 29th – May 8th, 2022 

• For a full list of events, click here.

ATTRACTIONS:

• Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, opened in early 2021 and located in the Warehouse District, explores the unique history and culture of Southern Jews: how and when they arrived, which customs they held on to, and how they created new traditions alongside their neighbors in cities large and small across the South. 

  • Liberations Pavilion at The National WWII Museum, currently under construction, will mark the final major addition to The National WWII Museum. 

    • When complete in 2022, the Pavilion will take visitors on an inspiring journey that explores what WWII means today and the ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy. 

• Sazerac House offers an interactive, high-tech experience takes visitors through a journey of the history and culture of spirits in New Orleans including the world-famous Sazerac Cocktail and Sazerac's roots, dating back to the 1850s, and includes a micro-distillery on-site. 

• The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden was originally conceived in 2003 but doubled in size in 2019 and has grown to include more than 90 sculptures. Occupying approximately eleven acres in City Park adjacent to the New Orleans Museum of Art, the garden design creates outdoor viewing spaces within this picturesque landscape. Admission is free.  

• The Louisiana Children’s Museum (LCM) has moved from its long-time home on Julia Street to City Park. The new LCM is situated on 8.5 acres and has been designed for Silver LEED certification. The museum includes five interactive exhibits including a 100-foot long mighty Mississippi water exhibit, plus indoor and outdoor environment elements, including decks, bridges, sensory and edible gardens, a floating classroom and a restored interpretive wetlands area.  

  • LCM has partnered with local restaurant group, Dickie Brennan & Co., for the onsite full-service cafe, Acorn, which has seating for 165, with half the seating inside and half outside. There is also a kid's culinary lab and child size booths. 

HOTELS:

•  Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences New Orleans opened its doors in August 2021. Located on the Riverfront at the foot of Canal Street, the hotel is the latest addition to the city’s luxury accommodations.  

  • The 34-story, mixed use development houses a 341-key hotel on the lower floors and 81 luxury condominiums on the upper floors. 

  • The property includes two restaurants: Miss River by Chef Alon Shaya and Chemin a La Mer by Chef Donald Link which opened in October 2021 and The Chandelier Bar.

• Virgin Hotels New Orleans is the latest lifestyle brand to open its doors in the Warehouse District in August 2021.

  • The property features 238 chambers as well as multiple dining and drinking outlets including the brand’s signature Commons Club and Funny Library Coffee Shop.  

• Hotel St. Vincent opened in June 2021 in the Lower Garden District. This is the latest project by designer and hotelier Liz Lambert and her partners at MML Hospitality. 

  • The 75-room hotel honors Saint Vincent’s storied past with highly considered restoration and modern design that complement the property’s historic character. 

  • ​The hotel features two restaurants: San Lorenzo, a coastal Italian menu with New Orleans inspiration, and the second outpost of Elizabeth Street Café, the perennial Austin favorite, featuring a French bakery and Vietnamese café menu.  

• One 11 Hotel, the first new hotel in over fifty years in the French Quarter, opened in December 2020. 

  • Located on Iberville St., it is a chic, 83-room hotel. 

  • Guests and locals will find reprieve from the energy of the surrounding streets in the common areas, including a sophisticated lobby bar and art gallery and a vibrant rooftop with panoramic views of the French Quarter and Mississippi River.   

• The Chloe, on St. Charles, is a boutique-style hotel in Uptown New Orleans that opened in 2020. 

  • The hotel features 13-foot ceilings, original fireplaces and other historic details. 

• Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, located at the intersection of Poydras and Tchoupitoulas Streets in the Central Business District, is a property that pays homage to the city’s rich musical history. Originally opening briefly in March 2020, the hotel’s grand reopening was in May 2021.  

  • The Peacock Room , the crown jewel of the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, offers a contemporary selection of hard to come by spirits and the menu features refined regional classics as well as live music. 

• Higgins Hotel & Conference Center, a Curio Collection by Hilton on the campus of The National World War II Museum, opened in mid-2019. The hotel features 230 guestrooms, a second-floor conference center with more than 18,000 square feet of meeting space, plus restaurants, market and a rooftop venue with stunning views of the city. 

RESTAURANTS:

• Mister Mao is a new tropical roadhouse on Tchoupitoulas in the Garden District.  

  • Unapologetically inauthentic, Mister Mao is serving up locally sourced, global flavors through refined small plates. 

• St. John is a new restaurant opening on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. 

  • Owned by esteemed Chef Eric Cook, St. John opened in September 2021.  

  • Cook’s menu will draw influences from the melting pot of cultures that lent traditions, flavors, ingredients, and cooking styles to the city- Italian, French, African, German and Caribbean. 

AIR LIFT:

• Air Transat is resuming seasonal service from Montréal to New Orleans starting on Thursdays and Sundays from Nov. 4th to April 24th. 

• Air Canada is resuming their direct flight from Toronto in November.  

• British Airways will be resuming nonstop flights between London Heathrow to MSY on December 9th. 

• MSY saw its first international flight since COVID began with Southwest’s nonstop service to Cancun on April 17th. 

• Spirit launched new international service to Cancun and San Pedro Sula, Honduras in July. 

• Alaska Airlines announced a plan to add direct flights from Portland to New Orleans starting in December and running through April 2022. 

• Jet Blue announced service to LaGuardia in the 1st Quarter of 2022.  

• American Airlines launched new daily service to Austin on May 6th. 

COVID SAFETY: 

• Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020, New Orleans & Company has promoted the highest safety protocols and strongly encouraged visitors to follow guidelines for masking, social distancing, and vaccines for the safety of all who choose New Orleans as a city to live, work and visit.  

• Today, Orleans Parish has among the highest vaccination rates in all the state currently at 75% fully vaccinated and 83.7% with at least one dose. 

• More information on New Orleans & Company COVID safety here. 

New Orleans & Company is a nationally accredited, 1,100-member destination marketing organization and the largest and most successful private economic development corporation in Louisiana. New Orleans & Company and its members and partners influence thousands of decision-makers and millions of visitors to choose New Orleans through direct sales, marketing, public relations, branding, visitor services and local advocacy initiatives at our New Orleans headquarters and offices in Chicago, Columbia, SC, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom, France, Germany and China. Consistently recognized as one of the top five destination marketing organizations in the country, New Orleans & Company celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2020. For more information, please visit: Neworleans.com/about, Facebook.com/neworleansandco and Instagram.com/Neworleansandco.

Media Contact
Cal Palermo
cpalermo@neworleans.com
(504) 556-5867