The majority of convention venues, hotels and attractions are back in business in the Crescent City’s main tourist zones, with others continuing to reopen following Hurricane Katrina and many properties undergoing renovations and expansions.
The Ernst N. Morial Convention Center, which recently completed a $60 million renovation, has largely recovered, with more than 71 major conventions, trade shows and meetings on the books for 2007.
With the addition of 527 rooms at the newly reopened Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, as of January, there were more than 29,500 of 38,000 hotel rooms available in metropolitan New Orleans.
Harrah’s New Orleans Casino reopened last year and has completed a $150 million expansion project, including the addition of a 450-room hotel with a conference center.
The Hyatt New Orleans is expected to reopen in about a year. The 1,184-room property is the focus of a $716 million public-private revitalization project that will create the Hyatt Jazz District, a 20-acre performance arts park anchored by a new National Jazz Center.
The 250-room Hotel Monaco will reopen as the Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles Ave. this month following an $11 million renovation.
The New Orleans Marriott plans to finish a $22 million renovation of its grand ballroom, prefunction space and suites this summer.
Boomtown New Orleans plans to complete a $145 million expansion and casino renovation in 2008, adding a riverboat gaming complex, a 200-room hotel and additional meeting space.
Maison Dupuy Hotel recently finished a major renovation of public areas and guest rooms.
There is no projection as to when the city’s airport will be back to 100 percent. As of January, Louis Armstrong International Airport hosted 64 percent of the number of daily departures and 77 percent of the number of destinations that it had before Katrina. The CVB, however, works closely with the airlines to ensure that flights are added for large conventions or events coming to town.
