NOLA backup plan: Atlanta
According to this Washington Post article, New Orleans meeting organizers are turning their eyes toward Atlanta to rebook their meeting, if need be. Which isn’t too suprising.
What does surprise me is that Heywood Sanders has popped up in at least three of the articles I’ve read on New Orleans and conventions, post-hurricane. This time he’s saying that the damage will hurt NOLA in its ability to compete for conventions in the future, due to what he says is an oversupply of convention centers. Well, there may be a lot of centers, but not a lot as big as New Orleans’. Plus, it just bugs me that he’s saying this kind of thing as the city drowns.
Assuming (and I acknowledge it’s a big assumption) that NOLA comes back strong after however long it’ll take to clean up, rebuild, and repopulate, I don’t think this hurricane will deter too many from seeing it as a great meeting destination. Disaster can strike anywhere, anytime, and the fact that nothing of this magnitude has happened before should work in its favor.
Plus, I just love that city. I want to see it back to its old bons temps rouler self again. Don’t know if it can, but this dancing on its (presumed) grave is awful.
Related Topics: Meetings After Katrina, Uncategorized
September 1st, 2005 at 8:55 am
I agree, Sue. New Orleans is not just some other city — it’s unique, and uniquely American. Sanders’ comments are not just crass at this time, but remarkably uninformed — if he believes that “space” and space alone is the determining factor in where conventions are booked, then I’m afraid he pretty obviously doesn’t know anything about meetings.
New Orleans is an amazing town — a place that all Americans know and love (even those who have never been there). That’s why this entire disaster is so especially heart-wrenching. Can they rebuild? It’s going to be such an overwhelming process, but I hope they can and think they will. And when they do, New Orleans will be a destination again. You simply can’t compare New Orleans and Atlanta.
It’s all just so tragic and distressing.
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