NOLA Ranks High with CNN, Travel & Leisure
Looking for reasons to visit New Orleans, well how about nine great reasons. Based on an online survey conducted on the websites of Travel and Leisure magazine and CNN, New Orleans ranks No. 1 as the best city for its food, music, flea market and antique shopping. The Big Easy also ranks high for cocktail hour, going out at night, wild weekends and "girlfriend getaways." And New Orleans residents are the most fun, which tells us that we know how to throw a party and enjoy ourselves. Throw in Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, French Quarter Festival, Sugar Bowl and every other event which the city decides is a reason for a celebration and New Orleans still ranks as one of the top destinations in the United States.
Forecast for Fall and Winter looks bright…
The city's tourism industry seems to have reached a sense of normalcy two years after the storm, at least for the coming months. The fall quarter looks "very respectable," and it began last week with the hosting of the American College of Surgeons, an event expected to draw 16,000 visitors. The American Academy of Ophthalmology will bring 26,000 conventioneers to its Nov. 10-13 convention. New Orleans again will host the annual Bayou Classic, the football game between Grambling State and Southern University on Nov. 24 in the Louisiana Superdome. Then we celebrate Christmas New Orleans style, a month long holiday celebration. The 2008 Sugar Bowl returns to New Orleans on Jan 1. Six days later the BCS National Championship game will be broadcast from New Orleans, a game that will be viewed by ten's of millions of American households. Next, the festivities of the Mardi Gras season begin with Mardi Gras day falling early this year on Feb 5. Huge crowds are expended in 2008. Also, on Feb. 17 the city plays host to its first NBA All Star Game, which promises to fill hotel rooms and will bring a week long of pre-game activities and plenty of national exposure. The French Quarter Festival, April 11-13, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, April 25 through May 4, will also attract thousands of visitors this spring from all over the world.