NEW ORLEANS WILL Continue to Lead as a Sports Tourism Destination

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Here in New Orleans, we love our sports. Calling us enthusiastic sports fans would be a gross understatement. The way we love sports and the way we host visitors, it’s no wonder that New Orleans was honored at the 2013 World Travel Awards as being America’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, New Orleans hosted an unprecedented series of large sporting events including the 78th Allstate Sugar Bowl, the 2012 Allstate BCS National Football Championship, the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four, Wrestlemania 30, and of course, Super Bowl XLVII. We were even nominated for SportsTravel Awards “Best Professional Sporting Events” for hosting the 2014 NBA All-Star Game. Vote for New Orleans here! 

NBA All-Star Game - Smoothie King Center - New Orleans, LA

Photo Courtesy of Paul Broussard on Flickr

When we host large-scale sporting events, New Orleans sees a host of wonderful benefits. From hotels to restaurants to bars and shops, out-of-towners that are here to celebrate and cheer for their favorite teams are ready to spend in our city. Additionally, those businesses that see increased sales also spend more on their supplies and goods to make sure to be stocked and ready for the increase in customers, further increasing spending in New Orleans, and extending the economic impact further to businesses indirectly affected. Another plus for New Orleans is that infrastructure improvements already in the works are given an extra push towards completion to help our city prepare for the inevitable influx of people that we welcome to town, like the $336 million in improvements made to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Every dollar that the hundreds of thousands of visitors spend here while attending sporting events is spent several times over within our local economy before leaving, eventually touching all of our varied industries. Hosting sporting events gives our local economy a significant boost and creates thousands of new ambassadors that sing our praises back home after their visit. Our love of sports and our welcoming, hospitable reputation makes for important boosts in our tourism industry, which helps our city continue to grow.