NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans continues to charm visitors from around the world and earn praise with recent designations in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2017. The readers of the prominent travel magazine have named New Orleans the No. 4 city in the U.S. and The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery the No. 13 city hotel in the continental United States. This is the fourth consecutive year that New Orleans has been named a top five city in the country.
“New Orleans has a rich history of welcoming visitors from around the globe to enjoy our renowned cuisine and music, cultural authenticity and way of life,” said Stephen Perry, president and CEO, New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. “There are more restaurants, things to do and places to stay in New Orleans than ever before, and we are in a unique position of tremendous development and excitement gearing up for the city’s 300th birthday in 2018 to continue to impress and attract visitors with an unparalleled experience. It’s an honor to be recognized as one of the top 15 cities in the U.S. because the designation was voted on directly from the readers of Travel +Leisure, our visitors.”
In its 22nd year, Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards is an annual readers’ survey that rates destinations, hotels, airports, cruise lines and more. New Orleans ranked ahead of Nashville, Chicago, Boston and Portland, in the list of U.S. Best Cities, and was included in the top four along with Charleston, Savannah, and Santa Fe. Readers ranked cities on their sights and landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping and overall value.
“As a leader in the travel industry, receiving accolades from Travel + Leisure is indeed a unique honor,” said Mark Romig, president and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. “We thank the readers who participated in awarding this honor to New Orleans and know this will help further our messaging that New Orleans is a special place to visit anytime, including during our Tricentennial year in 2018.”
New Orleans’ designation as a World’s Best City follows a string of accolades in recent years including Southern Living’s Best Cities in the South, Condé Nast Traveler’s list of Best Big Cities in the U.S., Thrillist’s list of Most Romantic Cities, The Washington Post’s list of 10 Best Food Cities in America, Travel + Leisure’s list of America’s Favorite Cities and among others.
In a recent article entitled “8 Cities Whose Entrepreneurship Communities Are Booming,” Entrepreneur magazine names New Orleans No. 5.
Entrepreneur says of New Orleans, “As the home to Collision, one of entrepreneurship's hottest conferences, as well as a slew of other Fortune 500 and startup companies alike, New Orleans has carved an incredible foundation for startups to thrive. Plus, do I need to mention the rich culture?”
View the Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards winners here
View the Entrepreneur slideshow here
