Katrina 10 Recognizes Resilience and Progress Since 2005

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It’s been ten years since the city of New Orleans – along with so many other cities and towns along the Gulf South – was pushed to its emotional and physical limits following Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent failure of the federal levee system. All in all, Hurricane Katrina was the costliest disaster in United States history.

Ten years later, New Orleans is thriving across sectors like hospitality, education, entrepreneurship, and more – just check out just a few of the improvements since the storm:

  • 78,000 jobs created by the tourism industry including chefs, street performers, musicians, artists, sales and marketing professionals, tour operators and more
  • 1,400+ restaurants make New Orleans a culinary capital of the world
  • 9.52 million Visitors to New Orleans in 2014
  • $6.8 billion in visitor spending in 2014 – through visitor spending, the tourism industry helped fuel New Orleans’ recovery beginning immediately after August 2005
  • 129 festivals attended by an estimated 4 million people in 2014, up 25 percent since 2010
  • 99 percent increase in restaurant jobs since 2006
  • Super Bowl XLVII in 2013: New Orleans  ties with Miami for most Super Bowls hosted
  • 500,000 annual visitors to the National World War II Museum, New Orleans’ largest ticketed tourist attraction
  • Louis Armstrong International Airport surpassed the number of pre-Katrina non-stop flights: 42 in 2005 compared to 45 in 2015

The numbers tell the story: we’re a resilient city. That’s why the City of New Orleans created Katrina 10 as a new initiative to focus on telling New Orleans’ story since Katrina. Follow Katrina 10 on various social channels or visit their website for more information about New Orleans continued resilience. NEW ORLEANS WILL prosper!

Celebrating Progress

One of Katrina 10’s missions is to celebrate the many areas of progress in the city since the hurricane. Housing recovery, economic development and entrepreneurship, criminal justice reform and education improvements are four prominent sectors where the city has seen improvement and resilience.

Through NEW ORLEANS WILL, we are especially proud of the progress of the tourism sector. Last year, for example, the city surpassed more than 9 million visitors per year once more. And visitors have access to more than ever before: from the 600 additional restaurants available now than compared with 2005 to $400 million worth of improvements at local hotels, the city is ready to welcome visitors and provide unparalleled hospitality. Improvements to the airport, Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Morial Convention Center are just a few of the other improvements in hospitality and tourism.

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Katrina 10 celebrates the city’s resilience since Hurricane Katrina. (Photo courtesy Katrina 10 on Facebook)

A Vision for the Future

As we approach the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Katrina 10 welcomes everyone to honor lives lost and reflect on lessons learned. Katrina 10 will host a series of events related to the architecture of recovery and the celebration of New Orleans continued vibrancy. Visit Katrina 10 for a complete list of events leading up to the anniversary on Saturday, August 29, 2015.