October 2006
City Insider: New Orleans
October 2006 Advertorial

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Update
•  More than $68 million in renovations have been made to this facility.
•  Partially reopened in February 2006.
•  Majority of the center opened June 19th offering 740,000 square feet of exhibit space, 99 meeting rooms, a 4,000-seat auditorium and a 36,000-square-foot ballroom.
•  The remaining four halls, 41 meeting rooms and a 32,000-square-foot ballroom will reopen in November 2006.

Superdome
• $168 million in renovation and upgrades are being made to the facility.
•  The Superdome reopened Sept. 25, 2006.

Visitor attractions
Shopping – New Orleans is full of specialty shops, designer boutiques, galleries, cafes and restaurants. The French Market is America’s oldest operating public market. And, of course, the French Quarter’s Royal Street is world famous for elegant antique furniture, décor and jewelry. The Warehouse/Arts district is known as the SoHo of the South for its lofts and upscale art galleries. The Riverwalk Marketplace offers a casual shopping experience with river views. Magazine Street features six miles of eclectic shops, hip boutiques, art studios, galleries, spas, restaurants and cafes.
Nightlife – The nightlife in New Orleans is the stuff legends are made of, from the neon, noise and revelry on Bourbon Street, to the clinking of chips and the ringing of slots at the area’s casinos. There are intimate candlelit restaurants, world-class theater and arts attractions or dancing the night away at one of New Orleans’s famous clubs.
Culture and Arts – New Orleans offers a variety of entertainment for those who prefer something more educational. For the history buff, there’s The National D-Day Museum. Or for the art enthusiast, there’s the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

What show organizers need to know about New Orleans
Meetings are Back in New Orleans! Groups such as the American Psychological Association, the American Library Association, Air & Waste
Management Association, American Trucking Association and Maritz Travel Company have had successful meetings in New Orleans since May 2006.
Fortune 500 companies such as Avaya are booking immediate business and we have a full convention calendar for the fourth quarter of 2006. The
National Association of Realtors, a citywide meeting in November, has record-breaking pre-registration.
Airport - As of August, the Louis Armstrong International Airport was served by 108 flights from 32 cities daily (64 percent the number of daily departures and 77 percent the number of destinations served before Katrina).
Hotels – 103 of the city’s 140 hotels are open, 90 of which are located downtown.
• 28,000 of the city’s 38,000 rooms citywide are back in service.
• Notable properties returning to service:
Ritz-Carlton Hotel – December 2006
Hyatt Regency New Orleans – Fall 2007
Dining – The Louisiana Restaurant Association reports there are nearly 1,000 restaurants open in New Orleans, including the French Quarter, downtown and the Warehouse Arts District. There are also more than 18 new restaurants in the city.

Contact us
Nikki Nicholson
Vice President of Sales
New Orleans Metropolitan Convention &
Visitors Bureau
504-566-5034 (telephone)
nnicholson@neworleanscvb.com
www.neworleanscvb.com