What Is Going on With New Orleans' Tourism Numbers?
It's a tale of two cities...or really...one city with two majorly conflicting reports on tourism statistics.
Two reports conducted by University of New Orleans and the City of New Orleans (technically its Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp.) reached two very different tourist counts for New Orleans in 2017.
University of New Orleans estimated that the Crescent City welcomed 10.98 million visitors, who spent $7.51 billion in 2017 (a record for the city). The university produced the 2017 numbers independently, and its tourism tally was based on a mix of outside data and in-person surveys throughout the year to figure out how many people were visiting.
Meanwhile, the City of New Orleans used a third party data firm, D.K. Shifflet & Associates, to compile its visitor numbers. Its report found a whopping 6.85 million difference in the amount of tourists to the Big Easy. According to their findings, a total of about 17.74 million visitors came to New Orleans in 2017. They also tabulated those tourists spent $1.19 billion more than the University's calculation, for a total of $8.7 billion in tourism dollars.
Complicating matters is the fact that University of New Orleans used to help the city calculate the official number of visitors -- until this year.
"We realize that the numbers from [D.K. Shifflet and Associates] differ significantly from [University of New Orleans's], but if you compare UNO's and DKSA's year-over-year increases side by side, the trajectory is basically the same," Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Stephen Perry said in a statement. "The transition to D.K. Shifflet and Associates ensures New Orleans' visitor data is comparable to data reported by the Louisiana Office of Tourism and many of our competitor cities which use this methodology to measure visitation and visitor spending."
Regardless of the exact visitor numbers, TPG contributors have found New Orleans to live up to its reputation as an exciting destination for visitors of all kinds. Whether its venturing on Bourbon Street, or enjoying festivities like Mardi Gras or the tricentennial —this city offers a variety of attractions and events.
If you're planning a vacation to the Big Easy, watch this video for some New Orleans trip-spiration.
H/T: NOLA.com
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Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month