Mardi Gras Has Come Back Big
Basing their estimates on hotel and restaurant figures, vendor permits, and the overall crowd size, New Orleans officials think the economic impact of the 2007 Mardi Gras celebration was strong, if not quite up to the levels reached before Hurricane Katrina. USA Today reports:
“The real economic impact of the celebration that ended last Tuesday won’t be known until sales tax figures are compiled in mid-March. However, Nagin said he thinks the economic impact of the 2007 bash will be around 80% of the estimated $250 million a year generated by Mardi Gras spending before Katrina flooded the city in August 2005.”
This is great news. So much of the New Orleans economy is based on tourism. Mardi Gras coming back to pre-Katrina levels is one of the only ways the city and region is going to rebuild and rebound.
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