New Orleans :: Tourism Updates
The tourism industry's biggest trade group is lobbying Congress on behalf of hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast states for tax breaks on meals, travel costs, and housing for businesses whose workers are out of their homes.
Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana's top tourism official, has unveiled a plan to help the New Orleans area's hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, museums and other arts-related businesses get their employees back and start bringing in profits again.
Continue below...
The tourism industry's biggest trade group is lobbying Congress on behalf of hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast states for tax breaks on meals, travel costs, and housing for businesses whose workers are out of their homes.
Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana's top tourism official, has unveiled a plan to help the New Orleans area's hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, museums and other arts-related businesses get their employees back and start bringing in profits again. Landrieu's plan includes a public-relations campaign to lure tourists back to Louisiana and an effort to ensure that damaged museums and other cultural institutions are restored.
Among the tax breaks proposed by Jonathan Tisch, head of the Travel Business Roundtable, would be a two-for-one travel expenses deduction on federal income taxes. Tisch said his group wants the breaks for areas affected in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The NOMCVB has worked with Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu to establish an alternate temporary office in Baton Rouge at the Capitol Annex on the fifth floor. The NOMCVB will likely be headquartered in Baton Rouge for the remainder of the year. The NOMCVB Chicago and Washington offices are fully functional.
The NOMCVB offices on St. Charles Avenue are closed and are not likely to have power restored for two months in a best case scenario. It could take many more weeks. Our magnificent new headquarters has been somewhat damaged, but we are fully operational in our temporary offices. Cleaning and restoration crews have already begun work in our building.
We are deeply appreciative of the Oklahoma National Guard, which has cleared our building, secured it, and is using it as an operational base. They are treating our facilities with great respect and protecting them, and we are delighted and proud that they are there. We thank them for their security and all their efforts.
To our knowledge, all NOMCVB personnel are safe. However, it is estimated that more than 75% of our staff will have sustained major home damage, many suffering outright loss of their homes. Your tax-deductible contribution to the following fund will go 100% to help NOMCVB employees who are victims of Katrina’s wrath:
New Orleans CVB Employee Relief Fund
1051 North Third St.
Capitol Annex, Fifth Floor
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
NOMCVB President and CEO Stephen Perry has re-organized the NOMCVB staff and created new task force teams. Assignments have been given, employees have eagerly volunteered for different tasks, and those who are currently unable to work have been given support.
- Executive Vice President Kitty Ratcliffe will work from Dallas for the near future and will coordinate all convention sales team efforts with her executive team of directors.
- Vice President of Tourism Kim Priez will be working from Pensacola, Fla., and is coordinating all efforts related to travel agents, wholesalers, tour packagers, brokers and operators, tour series, and other leisure-side group activities, including coordination with leisure travel media.
- Director of Corporate Sales Sallee Pavlovich will be based out of Washington, D.C., for the near future and is stationed at DMAI (IACVB).
- The Washington and Chicago offices are fully operational and staffed with additional personnel.
- Mr. Perry is fully operational at the Lt. Governor's Office in Baton Rouge on the fifth floor of the Capitol Annex, along with Vice President Steve Moeller, the NOMCVB Information Technology team, Director of Convention Marketing Jeff Anding, and several sales managers and assistants. (Telephone 225-342-7009.)
Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu has graciously welcomed our industry leaders into his offices and provided us a home base from which to operate. We are forever in his debt.
The City of New Orleans has set up offices in the building with us on a separate floor, and we are in constant contact with Brenda Hatfield, Cynthia Sylvain-Lear, and Don Hutchinson. We have exceptional access as well to the staffs of the Governor and Lt. Governor.
Greater New Orleans Inc., including President Mark Drennen, are also setting up on the first floor of the Annex at the very gracious invitation of the Secretary of Economic Development Michael Olivier.
The political and business base of New Orleans has thus been gathered in the same building, adjacent to our capitol, courtesy of our state government. This will greatly facilitate tactical, strategic, policy, and financial discussions over the coming months.
Bill Langkopp, executive director of the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association, is also in Baton Rouge and working with the NOMCVB team on a daily basis.
New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation President Sandy Shilstone is established in Houston and is operational and in contact with our team.
Strategic planning meetings between tourism and government leaders have already begun. Now there are means for bringing groups together to discuss strategic issues.
