The 23rd Annual Educational Travel Conference 2009 will be held at the Marriott New Orleans Hotel fronting the French Quarter.
Save the dates: February 18-21, 2009
MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW! Click here. Even though the room block deadline has passed, please register under the TLC group number to ensure you receive the best possible room rate available.
Making your hotel and air reservations now will ensure availability and the best prices during high season in New Orleans—the week prior to Mardi Gras! season in New Orleans—the week prior to Mardi Gras!
Some real airfare deals are available, too! For an overview of nonstop flights into MSY airport, please refer to http://www.travelearning.com/content/airlines. Attendees have advised us that they have purchased fares on American Airlines from San Francisco, CA, to New Orleans for about $400 and from New York City to New Orleans for $250.
Questions? Call 406-745-4800 or e-mail conference@travelearning.com.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
New Orleans Hospitality Industry Coming Back Strong after Gustav
The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is happy to report that hotels and restaurants in New Orleans are rapidly re-opening throughout the tourism corridor as residents and employees return to the city. The historic French Quarter, the Warehouse and Arts District, the Convention Center area, and the downtown business district suffered very little damage and for the most part did not even lose power during the height of the storm. The New Orleans Morial Convention Center had virtually no problems and looks forward to its September meeting calendar with no disruptions. The Louisiana Superdome also fared perfectly and is ready to rally the city once again and host the Saints season opener against Tampa Bay on Sunday, September 7th. The Louis Armstrong International Airport is open and handling routine airline traffic today. And the Maple Leaf Bar uptown was rocking to live music Wednesday night. Only in New Orleans.
The major hotels suffered only minor damage such as a few window breaks and all repairs are expected to be accomplished in the next few hours to few days. There will be virtually no disruption to meetings and conventions or special events scheduled over the next two weeks. There is no mid- or long-term impact of any kind. Hotels are managing weddings and lots of visitors this weekend. New reservations are being taken at some properties now with most of the remaining hotels opening their reservation systems over the next couple of days. By next week and the following weekend, nearly all hotels will be back to their full levels of service.
The world's greatest collection of restaurants is rapidly coming back on line. Many restaurants are opening as you read this and the vast majority will be open fully this weekend to serve visitors and New Orleans huge food craving population.
Harrah's Casino will re-open Saturday night at 6:00 pm. with a rousing trademark New Orleans Second Line parade. All of the great animals at the nationally famous Audubon Zoo did exceptionally well, and the Zoo is excited to aim for a re-opening on Saturday!
Visitors should of course check with their hotels before arriving to re-confirm their reservations.
As our team walks around the French Quarter, Convention Center area, Warehouse and Arts District, and downtown, we see that those parts of the city look amazing for having just had a major Hurricane pass through. Visit www.neworleansinfo.com for photos.
Superb Execution of Emergency Plans
New Orleans' tourism community proved to be exceptionally well prepared for Hurricane Gustav. In fact, the city is receiving positive national media coverage for its preparedness and the outstanding leadership of government officials. The evacuation of some 30,000 visitors to the city last weekend in less than 24 hours went exceptionally well and almost flawlessly followed the emergency plan established after Hurricane Katrina.
Today, New Orleans is proud to not only be the nation's leader in fun, food, music and major cultural and sporting events, but now to be the most sophisticated destination in the world in all levels of emergency planning, execution and visitor management.
Communications, Public Relations and Advocacy
The senior leadership team of the Convention and Visitors Bureau has been stationed in various cities and working in partnership with all local hospitality industry leaders around the clock. The website that we have updated at least four times daily since August 29th, 2008, www.neworleansinfo.com, has proven to be a valuable resource for CVB members, visitors, customers, our employees, the global meetings and travel industry and the international media.
Our team has worked continuously to respond to individual questions from visitors, conduct local and national media interviews, contact the customers of organizations brining meetings and conventions to New Orleans this fall, and assist the hotel and restaurant community as well as all tourism-related organizations. We received many words of support from our customers and friends in the industry before, during and after the storm ... they are reminded once again of how much pride we have in our city and are impressed with how we managed Gustav. In fact, one of our meeting customers suggested that other destinations should look to New Orleans as a best practices model for emergency planning.
Convention and Visitors Bureau Offices
The biggest challenge remaining now for New Orleans is the restoration of power to neighborhoods, as outages still exist in parts of the city and in adjoining parishes. Although offices of the Convention and Visitors Bureau on St. Charles Avenue will not re-open until Monday, September 8, to allow our employees to safely return home and tend to personal business, most of our employees are working remotely to continue to drive the city's economic engine of tourism.
For the latest updates, please visit www.neworleansinfo.com. Thanks to everyone for your professionalism and support.
We look forward to getting back to the office on Monday to do the one thing we love more than any other....showing off the world's best food, music, museums, attractions and art scene of America's most historic, authentic, walkable city.
