The Solomon Victory Theater at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Image: www.nationalww2museum.org |
Survey reveals visitors to New Orleans top 8 million mark for first time since Katrina, creating an economic boost for all of Louisiana
- Visitation increased by 800,000 (10.7 percent) from 7.5 million people in 2009 to 8.3 million in 2010
- Visitor expenditures increased by $1.1 billion (23.6 percent) in 2009 to $5.3 billion in 2010
- Vacation/pleasure visitors spent an average of $569 per trip or $142 per day
- 77.7 percent of visitors surveyed were in New Orleans for vacation/pleasure
- 22.3 percent of visitors surveyed were in New Orleans for a convention, association, trade show, corporate meeting or general business travel
- 47.9 percent of business travelers extended their stay for pleasure for an average of 2.1 days
- The number of visitors age 25-34, a demographic New Orleans began targeting more aggressively in 2010, saw an increase from 15.4 percent in 2009 to 18.4 percent in 2010
- 76.1 percent of visitors had an income over $50,000 with 35.2 percent over $100,000
- 39.1 percent of New Orleans visitors were in town for the first time; repeat visitation increased from 58.4 percent in 2009 to 60.9 percent in 2010
- Visitation from top feeder markets outside of Louisiana were: Texas, California, Florida, Mississippi and New York
- Visitors age 50-64 made up the largest demographic for 2010 visitors (35.4 percent) followed by 35-49 (32.2 percent), 25-34 (18.4 percent) and 18-24 (5.2 percent ) and 65 and older (8 percent)
- Overnight visitor stays in New Orleans went from 4.3 in 2009 to an average of 4.1 nights in 2010
- The proportion of overnight visitors staying in a hotel remained steady at 57.7 percent.
- Average party size held steady at 3.1 people
- The majority of visitors who stayed in a hotel made reservations through the hotel website (34 percent), a travel agent (22.6 percent), or a travel website (20.5 percent). 7.6 percent of visitors called their hotel directly, while 6.1 percent used association housing during their stay in New Orleans.
- The majority of New Orleans area visitors surveyed arrived by airplane (52.2 percent) or in their personal vehicle (40.2 percent)
- 90.2 percent of visitors who indicated that a cruise was the primary purpose of their trip extended their trip on average 2.4 nights
- 2009: 7.5 million visitors / $4.2 billion visitor spending
- 2008: 7.6 million / $5.1 billion
- 2007: 7.1 million / $4.8 billion
- 2006: 3.7 million/$2.8 billion
- 2005: July – December stats not available
- 2005: January-June: 5.3 million / $2.6 billion
- 2004: 10.1 million / $4.9 billion
- 2003: 8.5 million / $4.5 billion