Love Letter from New Orleans

By Kathy Feeney

There are places to visit. And then there is New Orleans. At once spiritual and ribald, antique and artsy, spicy and sweet, New Orleans is a savory stew of sights, sounds, flavors and feelings. The clip clop of horses pulling carriages through the French Quarter mix with the soulful sounds of street musicians. Zydeco and rock music blare from the bars on Bourbon Street as the shrill whistles of trains trudging through the city blend with the baritone toots of steamboats sailing by on the Mississippi. This is the city of Mardi Gras, beignets, chicory coffee, Bananas Foster, Hurricanes (as in the drink, merci beaucoup) jambalaya, and jazz. The spirit of New Orleans makes you want to genuflect out of gratitude one minute and dance until dawn the next. There is and always will be only one New Orleans. And that is reason enough for the city’s infamous adage: “Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!” - “Let the Good Times Roll!”
Big Easy Primer
For an effortless introduction to the Big Easy, check out Gray Line Tours. The company’s “Super City“ offers a narrated overview of the city including a ride through the Central Garden District and a stop at a cemetery. Another good choice is Gray Line’s “Hurricane Katrina Tour.”
The tour is not for “gawkers,” according to one guide, but for visitors who want to understand what happened during Hurricane Katrina. Participants will learn why the city was built on the Mississippi River and how the levees were breached. The tour travels through neighborhoods affected by the hurricane, such as Lakeview, Gentilly, New Orleans East, St. Bernard and the Ninth Ward.
Visit www.graylineneworleans.com
For more things to do in New Orleans check out www.foreverneworleans.com and www.24nola.com

Staying There
JAX FAX stayed at The Maison Dupuy Hotel located on the corner of Rue Toulouse and Burgundy streets in the French Quarter. With wrought iron balconies overlooking the boutique hotel’s tropical courtyard complete with a fountain and a heated swimming pool, the Maison Dupuy is a luxurious, yet functional respite for visitors and business travelers. Amenities include a 24-hour fitness room, valet parking, room service, voice mail and Internet access. The hotel’s award-winning restaurant, Dominique’s, features fine wines and a masterpiece menu. The Maison Dupuy offers a discount and an incentive to travel agents. According to Dana Crabtree, Reservations/Revenue Manager, “We will offer travel agents a special incentive (20% commission) to book during our slower periods and special discounts for themselves when they are visiting New Orleans.” Travel agents can call Crabtree direct at 504-648-6115. Rates at the Maison Dupuy Hotel vary with the season. During peak season in spring and fall rates, per room per night range from $129 to $239; summer season runs June through September with rates per room per night ranging from $89 to $169.
Call 800-535-9177 www.MaisonDupuy.com

Voluntourism in the Big Easy
For your clients interested in combining a trip to the Big Easy with volunteer opportunities, the Marriott and Renaissance Hotels of New Orleans have created the “Big Easy Spirit to Serve” program. Rooms are priced seasonally and range from $149 to $269 per night, based on double occupancy. The program was kicked off in April as part of National Volunteer Month, but the offer is valid year-round. Here are the details: Fifty dollars per night of the guests’ room rate will be contributed to New Orleans Habitat for Humanity to help in the revitalization of the Big Easy. Once reservations are confirmed, the Care Concierge at Marriott and Renaissance Hotels will provide recommendations of local volunteer organizations for guests who want to help in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Recommendations will be sent via email and the “voluntourists” will be supplied with breakfast for two to “keep them fueled throughout the day.”
“The Big Easy Spirit To Serve” program is available at the New Orleans Marriott, JW Marriott New Orleans, Marriott New Orleans at the Convention Center, Renaissance Pere Marquette and the Renaissance Arts Hotel.
Call 866.530.3763 and ask for rate code XXAU or visit www.neworleans.marriott.com

Getting There
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport offers 132 daily departures to 37 cities on 10 airlines, including Air Tran, American, Continental, Delta Air Lines, jetBlue, Northwest, Southwest and United.
Call 504-464-3547; www.flymsy.com
For New Orleans Fams and Commissionable Packages Information, call 800-672-6124; www.neworleanscvb.com and click on the “Just for Travel Agents” section for listings of commissionable packages and group fams.

July 2007 Feature

The Heart of Louisiana Beats Loud and Clear

By Katharine Dyson

It has been almost two years since Katrina sent water surging through the city on August 29, 2005 yet still the news talks of continued uncertainly. Recently I went there to see for myself. Would Bourbon Street be up to its old form?
Indeed it was. After checking into the Royal Sonesta Hotel, which was gleaming and polished, I sat down for a hearty dish of gumbo at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, one the French Quarter’s most famous restaurants. Later we checked out night spots like Funky Club Jazz bar and Preservation Hall. The streets and clubs were busy but not crowded: the heart of The Crescent City was beating.
In fact most restaurants in the historic center are now open including Acme Oyster House just off Bourbon Street known for oyster and catfish plates; Café Maspero where you get huge hamburgers and terrific chili; Bon Ton Café serving Cajun dishes from treasured old recipes; G.W. Fins for great fish and seafood; and Cooter Brown, famous for its crawfish.
The next morning, I walked to the Café du Monde for a delicious beignet amply topped with confectioners sugar — in fact the white powdery stuff was everywhere, on the tables, the floors, peoples’ faces. In this famed home of the beignet, business was definitely brisk. But New Orleans and tourism are still suffering.

Barely Surviving
Certainly this is a huge concern for Chris Smits of Cajun Pride Tours (800-467-0758) who runs tours of the city and alligator boat trips into the swampy wetland. “The people just aren’t coming like they did pre-Katrina,” says Smits. “They think we’ve closed down, yet you can see we are here. The restaurant is here, our boats are fine, the alligators are as fearsome as ever. But I’m worried about staying in business. Some people are going into other work like running limos — anything just to hold on. Yet people come to New Orleans, stay in the Quarter and everything seems fine so they ask where the destruction is. It’s here but not in the Quarter.” Clearly recovery in the flood-damaged parishes of 9th Ward, St. Bernard and Jefferson has been slow.
No doubt about it -- tourism is suffering and by extension so are are the people who work in the tourism industry. “We’re doing everything we can to hold on,” says Smits “and though total revenue is up 30% over last year, we’re still 70% down from pre-Katrina.” Indeed although tourism numbers were up for Mardi Gras to 800,000 visitors from 700,000 the year before, still the pre-Katrina crowd was more than a million. What this means, is that it’s a great time to come to New Orleans with the Quarter fully up and running and the crowds down. Although it may sound insensitive, there are also good deals to be had at this time, opening up the city to price sensitive clients.

Golf Brings Hope
Some tourism officials are pinning their hopes on one of the state’s less known assets: their golf courses, most which are in super shape including the Pete Dye-designed TPC of Louisiana which was named “One of America's Top Five Best New Golf Courses” by Golf Digest in January 2005, a challenging 7,520 yard layout with 69 pot bunkers. Although taking a huge hit, it recently hosted a major PGA event, the Zurich Classic. The TPC is one of 11 excellent courses in a group of environmentally-friendly tracks located throughout Louisiana along the Audubon Golf Trail. Call 866-248-4652; www.audubongolf.com
Carter Plantation, a David Toms-designed track less than an hour from the new Orleans is characterized by moss-draped live oaks, cypress trees and pines. A Play and Stay package from $195 per night includes a round of golf, breakfast and accommodations. Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild, a beauty by Robert Von Hagge, provides the opportunity to see the hauntingly beautiful Atchafalaya Basin about 80 miles outside New Orleans.
Other courses near new Orleans on the Trail include the Audubon Park Golf Course, a par 62 executive course in historic uptown New Orleans and The Island carved out of a sugar plantation.

If You Want to Do Something
Talk among those in tourism continues to revolve around the need to get the word out that the heart of New Orleans and the countryside beyond are rolling out the red carpet to visitors.
If you want to do something, you can help by sending people to the state. They will not be disappointed.
The Cajun and Creole cuisine is better than ever — Zagat named New Orleans the 2nd most affordable restaurant city in America. Where else can you sink your teeth into a mouthwatering beignet in the morning, play 18 holes of golf on an elegant designer course punctuated by live oaks, sip Plantation mint juleps, eat some fantastic food — and listen to great jazz into the wee hours.
Or, go outside town and dine and overnight at Nottoway Plantation (though on the levee, never closed its great wide doors).

New Orleans is ready and waiting.
For information, call 800-672-6124; www.neworleansinfo.com