New Orleans is thriving and we are growing stronger every day. Part of our success has to do with our flourishing tourism industry. In 2012, visitors spent an all-time high of $6 billion in New Orleans, and every one of those dollars is spent several times over before leaving our economy. Tourism being our number one industry affords us all incredible benefits, whether or not you work in hospitality and tourism directly.

We have been topping “best of” travel lists left and right and big changes have swept our business and creative communities. There are so many large-scale changes that we can see if we look at the big picture, but the good things that are happening to New Orleans can be felt on a smaller scale, as well. It’s important to appreciate the little details that pop up in our lives that tourism in New Orleans has had a hand in bringing about.

With more and more people not only coming to visit New Orleans, but also coming to live and work here, there are more and more businesses popping up all over for us to enjoy. Every time a new, snazzy restaurant opens up in your neighborhood, tourism had a hand in making it possible to thrive. Every time you enjoy a festival that is bigger and better, it’s because there are more people living in and visiting our city willing to attend and bring attention. When inch by inch you see our city look more beautiful, when you notice a street that looks smoother and a bus or streetcar that runs more consistently, or when you notice, house by house, a neighborhood near you that looks brighter and busier, that’s because tourists spend money here, and with that revenue, including sales tax, the people of this city have more and more resources to work with, not to mention more people to work with.

(photo from fallsroad on Flickr)

Look around your life in New Orleans, there are significant changes, large and small, that show themselves all around you. What improvements in New Orleans have you noticed in your day-to-day?