NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau (NOCVB) invites Louisiana residents to take advantage the city’s many cultural attractions and renowned dining options through Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown and COOLinary New Orleans Restaurant Month, the NOCVB’s annual summer campaigns. The two campaigns encourage locals to experience their hometown through the eyes of visitors while supporting the businesses that have made New Orleans one of the most culturally authentic destinations in the world – and one of Travel + Leisure’s “Best Cities” in 2016.
Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown (August 1-September 30) promotes summer specials on local tours, attractions, hotels and more through www.touristathome.com. Returning to the program this year is the popular eight-week Instagram contest, where followers of New Orleans’ Instagram (@VisitNewOrleans) are encouraged to submit a photo pertaining to one of four themes – family, food, history and culture – using the hashtag #BeATouristNOLA for a chance to win weekly staycation prizes. Locals can visit touristathome.com for a complete listing of the official rules.
The 12th annual COOLinary New Orleans Restaurant Month returns in August, offering special two- and three-course lunch menus for $20 or less, three-course dinner and brunch menus for $39 or less at more than 65 premiere restaurants across the city. In addition to giving locals an opportunity to sample some of the cities most celebrated dining options at discounted rates, it also drives business to New Orleans area restaurants during a historically slow period.
This year’s COOLinary New Orleans restaurants include: Andrea’s Restaurant & Catering, Angeline, Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, The Golf Club at Audubon Park – Clubhouse Café, Bayona, BB King’s Blues Club, Bistreaux at Maison Dupuy, Bistreaux Metairie, Bourbon House, Brigtsen’s, Broussard’s, Café Adelaide & the Swizzle Stick Bar, Café Degas, Carrollton Market, Charcoal’s Gourmet Burger Bar, Charlie’s Steak House, Commander’s Palace, The Court of Two Sisters, Criollo, Dante’s Kitchen, Del Fuego, Desire Oyster Bar, Dick & Jenny’s, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse, Fountain Lounge, Fulton St. Bistro and Bar, Galatoire’s 33 Bar and Steak, Galatoire’s Restaurant, Gordon Biersch, Grand Isle Restaurant, GW Fins, Hard Rock Café, Johnny Sanchez, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Kingfish Kitchen and Cocktails, La Provence, LMNO at Le Méridien New Orleans, Lüke, M Bistro, Manning’s, Mizado Cocina, Morton’s Steakhouse, Mr. B’s Bistro, Muriel’s Jackson Square, NOLA , Palace Café, Pascal’s Manale, The Pelican Club, Pizza Domenica, Primitivo, Rebellion Bar & Urban Kitchen, Restaurant R’evolution, Rib Room, Rue 127, Salon by Sucré, Silk Road, SoBou, St. Roch Market, Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar, Tableau, Trenasse, Tujague’s, Vacherie Restaurant, Zea Rotisserie & Bar and more! Visit www.COOLinaryneworleans.com for menus.
“New Orleans is consistently recognized as one of the world’s most authentic and culturally rich destinations as well as a top destination for locals,” Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the New Orleans CVB, said. “With our Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown and COOLinary campaigns, an already affordable destination becomes even more accessible to New Orleanians, allowing them to experience what visitors and esteemed publications around the world have been touting – that New Orleans is simply the place to be. Each year, the special discounts and packages of our campaigns give locals the unique opportunity to rediscover and immerse themselves in the cultural wealth of their own city.”
NOCVB reps said the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau is a nationally accredited, 1,100-member destination marketing organization and the largest and most successful private economic development corporation in Louisiana. NOCVB reps said the CVB and its members influence thousands of decision-makers and millions of visitors to choose New Orleans through direct sales, marketing, public relations, branding and visitor services at its New Orleans headquarters and offices in Chicago, Louisville, KY, Washington, D.C. and six foreign countries.
Consistently recognized as one of the top five CVBs in the country, the New Orleans CVB celebrates its 56th anniversary in 2016.
