NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Mitch Landrieu noted what he calls “the tremendous success” of the cultural economy and tourism sectors in 2015 as the city hosted several world-class events, received global tourism accolades and attracted major film projects.
“New Orleans has a proud history of attracting visitors from around the world to experience our unique music, food and culture,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “With the city once again welcoming more than 9 million visitors per year, it’s clear that we are doing our part to make sure New Orleans has even more to offer each year. As we approach our 300th anniversary in 2018, New Orleans will continue to uphold its status as one of the world’s most authentic and beloved cities.”
Year after year, New Orleans has seen tourism numbers increase. Although the specific data for 2015 will not be released until early next year, tourism officials expect numbers for 2015 to be strong. In 2014, the tourism industry boasted nearly 9.52 million visitors with an estimated $6.81 billion in visitor spending. Spending in 2014 was a record-breaking 5.3 percent higher than 2013, according to data from the University of New Orleans (UNO) Hospitality Research Center.
In 2015, New Orleans hosted over 400 festivals, events, parades and markets including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, USA Volleyball Girls Junior National, ESSENCE Festival and French Quarter Festival.
Major film projects and local workforce development
Louisiana is a top producer of feature films in the country and New Orleans is the state’s flagship location. 2015 year-end projections show an estimated $583 million in direct spending for 41 tax credit projects in New Orleans—an increase of over $70 million from last year. There were also 108 non-tax credit projects that contributed in over $3 million in spending.
Notable film projects produced in the city this year include The Long Night, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Big Short, Daddy’s Home and Scream Queens.
With the number of productions in the New Orleans region steadily climbing, the City continued work to meet the increased demand for locals to fill jobs in the industry. As part of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy, Film New Orleans partnered with local organizations to produce low-cost or no-cost film industry workforce training programs for individuals interested in working in the burgeoning film industry of New Orleans. Last year, the City partnered with local film industry businesses, New Orleans Video Access Center, Jefferson Parish, Ashe Cultural Center and the UNO Foundation, to produce 16 workforce training programs, which offered film industry training and professional development opportunities to a total of 210 individuals from the New Orleans region.
The State of Louisiana, through the Motion Picture Tax Credit program, incentivizes productions to hire locals for their productions so the City assesses the needs of the industry and produces training programs to help fill the gaps in industry employment.
Scott Hutcheson, Senior Advisor to the Mayor for Cultural Economy, said, “This year, we continued our mission to ensure the success and sustainability of our city’s cultural economy. New Orleans has a strong and talented cultural workforce, which is a critical component in attracting major special events and productions to this city.”
In addition to film industry trainings, the Office of Cultural Economy developed eight other educational and workforce development programs in 2015 to train 303 individuals in the areas of digital arts & crafts, culinary arts, design, entertainment, literary arts & humanities, historic preservation and traditional culture bearers. Programming ranged from experiential workshops and job trainings to industry panel presentations.
High Marks on Tourism
New Orleans continues to garner international attention as a world-class destination. Recent honors include:
• Smartasset.com ranked New Orleans as one of the "Top Ten Cities for Outdoor Enthusiasts," December 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the "20 Best Places to Celebrate New Year's" by Fodor's Travel, November 2015.
• Readers of Condé Nast Traveler ranked New Orleans number five on the magazine's list of the "Best Big Cities in the U.S.," October 2015.
• New Orleans has been named one of the "12 Cities on the Rise" by PCMA Convene magazine, September 2015.
• Readers of Travel + Leisure named New Orleans one of the "World's 30 Friendliest Cities," August 2015.
• New Orleans was named number one on Travel + Leisure's list of "America's Best Cities for Festivals," July 2015.
• SmartAsset.com named New Orleans number one on its list of the "Top Ten Cities for Creatives," July 2015.
• New Orleans was named the number one "Top 10 Road Trip Destinations for Summer" by TravelPulse.com, July 2015.
• New Orleans has been named the second-best "World's Best City" in the U.S. and Canada category by readers of Travel + Leisure, July 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the "Most Affordable Cities for a Summer Escape" by TripAdvisor.com, June 2015.
• TripAdvisor.com named New Orleans the number one "Highly-Rated U.S. City for Vacation Rentals," April 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the "Friendliest Cities in America" by Travel + Leisure, April 2015
• Travel + Leisure named New Orleans one of "America's Best Cities for Sweet Tooths," April 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the "America's Best Cities for Music Scenes" by Travel + Leisure, April 2015.
• Men's Journal named New Orleans one of the "10 Best Places to Live Now," April 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the "Top Vacation Spots in the U.S." by ListsForAll.com, March 2015.
• New Orleans was named the number one "Best Drinking City in America" by Thrillist.com, March 2015.
• SmartAsset.com named New Orleans one of the "Most Interesting Cities in America," March 2015.
• Airfare to New Orleans is among the most affordable in the nation according to a report by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, March 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the "Top 10 Travelers' Choice Destinations in the U.S." by TripAdvisor.com, March 2015.
• New Orleans was named the number one "Quirkiest City in America" by Travel + Leisure magazine, March 2015.
• Travel + Leisure named New Orleans one of "America's Best Cities for Food Snobs," March 2015.
• Condé Nast Traveler has named New Orleans the number one "U.S. City for Business Travelers," February 2015.
• Ebony magazine named New Orleans named New Orleans one of its "14 Top Travel Spots for 2015," February 2015.
• New Orleans was named a "Top U.S. Destination" for travel in 2015 by users on Mashable.com, February 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the 10 Most Popular Valentine's Day 2015 Destinations by Priceline.com, February 2015.
• TripAdvisor.com named New Orleans one of the top "13 Destinations to Book Your Next Adventure," February 2015.
• The New York Times named New Orleans one of its "52 Places to Go in 2015," January 2015.
• New Orleans was named one of the Top 15 Destinations for 2015 by Explorica.com, January 2015.
• Momondo.co.uk named New Orleans the best emerging budget travel destination on its calendar for March of 2015.
Mark Romig, President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC), said, “As the tourism industry has grown this past year, so has the economy for the city of New Orleans. We expect to see continued positive trends in the growth of tourists and related visitor spending in the year ahead, providing more opportunities for job growth. This past year, with the eyes of the nation on us, the city emerged as a model of resilience and innovation. While there is certainly more work to do, we are so very proud of the men and women who work in the industry and their passion for excellence.”
Looking forward to 2016
In 2016, New Orleans will continue hosting world-class special events and anticipates a record number of attendees in the coming year. Additionally, the City will continue to work with the tourism and hospitality industry to attract major events and sustain a viable workforce to support the industry’s growth.
