New Orleans Tourism Recovery Efforts Continue
October 17, 2005
New Orleans Tourism Recovery Efforts Continue
October 17, 2005 – Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu unveiled a four-point plan to help the New Orleans area’s hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, museums and other arts-related businesses bring back employees and start making profits again. The plan includes a public relations campaign to attract tourists to Louisiana and an effort to ensure that damaged museums and other cultural institutions are restored.
Mayor C. Ray Nagin said he is asking the governor to allow New Orleans to create a casino gaming zone that would greatly expand its gambling and entertainment areas. The gaming zone would go from Claiborne Avenue at Canal and at Poydras and down towards the river. According to Nagin, hotels with more than 500 rooms would be allowed to become full-fledged casinos and the money would be split handsomely with the city. He said about seven hotels would currently qualify to become casinos. Nagin also said that the city and state would split the revenues above the casinos’ take at 50-50. The proposed deal would eliminate the exclusivity of Harrah’s.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., introduced legislation that would provide an estimated $250 billion in federal money to rebuild flood-ravaged New Orleans and repair hurricane damage elsewhere across the state. Congress already has provided $62 billion for recovery of the Gulf Coast from the hurricane, and previous estimates have suggested the final total could top $200 billion.
For more information, visit http://www.neworleanscvb.com/.