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Hurricane-affected areas in U.S. still struggling to bring in travellers

10 May 2006

A recent survey by global market research firm Synovate and travel research consulting group DataPath Systems shows that continued misperceptions of devastation in the hurricane hit states in the U.S. are still erroneously high, greatly impacting travel and tourism dollars in those areas.

Though only 7% of U.S. travellers indicated that the 2005 hurricane season has impacted their travel plans for 2006, destinations affected by last year's season, such as Mississippi and Louisiana, are still feeling the impact from last year's storms. Those surveyed still do not believe that Mississippi and Louisiana are good places to visit with 23% indicating their misgivings toward Mississippi and 28% feeling the same way about Louisiana.

According to Dr. Lisa Araj, Vice President of Synovate's Travel & Tourism group, "Much of this decline in visitor interest is due to inaccurate beliefs about the physical condition of the destination. These misperceptions also mean lower than normal tourism dollars."

In 2004, the tourism industry in Louisiana, the state's second largest industry, generated $9.9 billion in visitor spending and over $600 million in state and local tax dollars. In the six month period following the hurricane, an estimated $1.2 billion was lost with an additional loss of state tax revenue of over $50 million. The 12-month, or annual, impact will be twice the figures seen here, and more than likely it will take a minimum of three years to fully recover, according to a report prepared by the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, called "Louisiana Rebirth through the Recovery of our Tourism and Cultural Industries".

Twenty-two percent of travellers surveyed indicated that they believe New Orleans still has standing flood water and 14% said that it is not safe to visit due to contaminated air or drinking water. In addition, 12% thought that attractions such as historic districts in the French Quarter of New Orleans are still destroyed or devastated. In fact, according to the Louisiana Restaurant Association, over 2,600 retail food establishments have received recertification certificates from the Department of Health and Human Services as of early April. In addition, according to the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau website, all major clean-up in the French Quarter, Central Business District, Magazine Street and St. Charles Avenue areas have been completed.

Optimism for the future of New Orleans is also low. Only 15% of travellers feel that New Orleans will become a better destination to visit that it once was. The further one lives away from New Orleans, the lower that becomes. Among those living in nearby states, 19% feel New Orleans will become a better place compared to 15% of those living farther away. In addition, travellers seem cognizant of their lack of optimism with only 8% saying that they have a much more positive perception of New Orleans than six months ago. Just 4% believe that Mardi Gras 2006 was as good or better than in prior years.

"Travellers need two types of assurances to venture back into this region," said Donna Larsen, a tourism research consultant and owner of DataPath Systems. "They need to believe that the region is worth visiting, with facilities open and things to see, and they also need to know that they will be able to change plans or get refunds if needed." She continued, "Destinations need to work with the industry to recover traveller confidence. This data shows that they still have a long road ahead, and hopefully the 2006 hurricane season will not impact this region any further."