Limited Airlift Hinders New Orleans

A year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau said it has made much progress in bringing meetings and conventions business back to the city, but that recently reported meeting cancellations due to lack of air service remain a valid, if exaggerated, concern.

The city still is in recovery mode, according to CVB officials, and many of the current challenges it faces, such as an adequate number of flights to the local airport, were existing problems exacerbated by the hurricane.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune last month reported that Microsoft had cancelled three large events due to inadequate lift into the city. Perry said the article was inaccurate, and claimed Microsoft only canceled one of the three events they have booked in the city for 2007. However, the concerns over limited lift are true.

"Their decision to cancel one of the three meetings scheduled for 2007 was based on the lack of international flights to and from New Orleans, as approximately 50 percent of attendees were traveling from out of the country. There is nothing any industry partner could have done to alter that corporate decision made by Microsoft," said Perry.

Those lift concerns have been on the table for years, he added, and CVB leaders have met regularly with government, aviation leaders, airline executives and meeting planners in hope of resolving the challenges faced by a shortage in flights to and from the city of New Orleans. As a result of these meetings, Delta Air Lines has added a new flight between New Orleans and Los Angeles, and Continental Airlines has pledged to upgrade to larger aircraft during prime convention travel season, according to the CVB.

"In fact, in September, meetings were held about this very issue with the lead meeting planner from Microsoft, other meeting planners, CVB management, aviation board members, the mayor himself, the interim director of aviation at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and airline industry officials, including heads of scheduling. At that time, we were unaware of the announcement to be made several days later by Microsoft," Perry said.

The Times-Picayune quoted Michelle Duffourc, an airport spokesperson, as saying that no one from the bureau or Microsoft had asked the airport for help in retaining the convention. Perry said that statement is "false."

"Further, the spokesperson's comments led readers to believe that had airport officials known, they could have resolved the issue by bringing more flights into the city," he added.

The CVB said it is working directly with top scheduling executives at airlines to meet the demands in airlift for specific convention schedules.

Sue Sears Hamilton, senior director for two large summits of the American College of Cardiology, said she worked with the CVB and four major airlines to coordinate lift for the anticipated 30,000 attendees to her event scheduled for spring 2007 in New Orleans.

"We explored key issues that association meeting professionals face when it comes to getting thousands of travelers to a convention city, and discussed data-driven strategies for New Orleans to meet specific needs in this critical area," Hamilton said. "I was very encouraged by the discussions and by the commitment from the airlines to rise to the challenge and to work with us to ensure the continuing improvement in the airlift over the coming months to ensure the success of the major meetings returning to New Orleans."

For 2006, New Orleans retained 40 percent of conventions booked before Katrina. For 2007 bookings, 70 percent to 80 percent have been retained and 92 percent of 2008 events are still on the books, Perry said.

The city also has aggressively pursued site inspections, inviting meeting buyers, executives and agents to visit New Orleans.

"Our motto is, 'Seeing is believing,' " Perry said. "We have made tremendous progress but there is much more work to be done," he said, noting that the CVB has targeted current clients to retain business through 2007 and has launched an aggressive communications drive in the meetings and travel industry.

"Now we must build on successes from 2006, such as Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, the return of conventions and the Superdome reopening, to change perceptions, generate positive media coverage and increase visits from business travelers."

After Katrina, Perry said the city would target corporate meetings before large conventions or association business. Corporate events can mean higher per-attendee revenues, more flexible scheduling and do not have the lift or capacity problems that a large association might bring.

Perry said the city has welcomed meetings from Avaya—a Fortune 500 telecommunications company—Continental and Delta during the past few months.

"In addition to the large association meetings previously planned, advisory boards of major association and hotel corporations are choosing to host their meetings in New Orleans. This gives us the opportunity to host decision makers in the meeting and travel industries so they can reconfirm the allure of New Orleans as a top destination and serve as an extended sales force for the New Orleans CVB," Perry said.

The convention and visitors bureau also said it is leading an effort for 2007 to develop a common brand, logo and tagline for New Orleans, that can be utilized by all tourism partners as well as be a catalyst for economic development.

In the wake of Katrina, many cities across the country pledged to give back profits gained by the "ripple effect" of displaced meetings and events, Perry said those pledges have been fulfilled.

"Several CVBs, such as New York, Orlando, Toronto, Miami, Boston, Tampa, Nashville, Milwaukee and Anaheim, have made donations to New Orleans CVB charitable funds," Perry said.