News
Tourism Officials Bank on Weak Dollar’s Silver Lining
April 14, 2008
Original New Orleans CityBusiness article→
Stay Local! archive of this article ↓
The decline of the dollar against the euro and other currencies is making it increasingly expensive for Americans to travel abroad these days, but representatives of New Orleans hospitality and retail sectors see a silver lining. They are banking on the possibility the weak currency will sweeten the city’s appeal to foreign tourists for whom the city is a relative bargain and to Americans seeking a European-style retreat without the expense they would incur on the other side of the Atlantic.
New Orleans CityBusiness
Tourism Officials Bank on Weak Dollar’s Silver Lining
by By Emilie Bahr
Staff writer
NEW ORLEANS — Jan Soeten XV was to have been in Rotterdam, Holland, right about this time, joining his family in a much-anticipated celebration of his aunt’s 75th birthday. But as the dollar sunk lower and lower earlier this year, his aunt insisted he alter his plans.
“Because the cost is so high, she’s going to do her birthday there with the rest of our family and she’s going to fly over here next month,” said Soeten, 37, a New Orleans firefighter and bartender. “It’s actually cheaper for her to come over here to go on vacation.”
The dollar has been pushed lower for months on growing concerns about the U.S. economy. As of April 9, one euro was worth about $1.58 in American currency. The discrepancy between the dollar and the British pound was even more pronounced, with every pound worth roughly $1.97. Even Canadians, long accustomed to an exchange rate favoring their southern neighbors, are getting more for their money in the U.S. The Canadian currency was just two cents shy of its U.S. equivalent April 9, down from its recent high Nov. 7 of $1.09 in American currency.
The decline of the dollar against the euro and other currencies is making it increasingly expensive for Americans to travel abroad these days, but representatives of New Orleans hospitality and retail sectors see a silver lining. They are banking on the possibility the weak currency will sweeten the city’s appeal to foreign tourists for whom the city is a relative bargain and to Americans seeking a European-style retreat without the expense they would incur on the other side of the Atlantic.
There are signs this may already be happening.
At Saks Fifth Avenue on Canal Street, international shoppers are taking advantage of their enhanced buying power by snapping up high-end apparel and merchandise with the greatest frequency since the store reopened after Hurricane Katrina, said Steven Putt, director of public relations and fashion.
“It’s all part of the strength of the euro,” said Putt, who didn’t provide actual revenue figures but said sales to international visitors, tracked as part of the state’s Louisiana Tax Free Shopping program, were up 16 percent in 2007 over the previous year.
Guitarist Pierre Pichon said he’s noticed a more international crowd lately at the shows his gypsy jazz band, Vavavoom, plays in the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny.
“There’s more European tourists, mostly French, for some reason,” said Pichon, who is French. “In the French Quarter, there’s an increase in tourists big time. There are more than last year or the year before.”
One significant barometer of international travel to the city is expected to come this summer when the U.S. Commerce Department releases its annual travel statistics, said Kim Priez, vice president of tourism with the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. In the meantime, she said, anecdotal evidence points to a post-storm resurgence of international travel to the city.
“All we know is our customers have told us that they have sold more (New Orleans trips) for 2008 as of today than they did for all of ‘07,” Priez said. “We just had a booking of 25 groups from the Japan Travel Bureau. If we saw two last year we were lucky.”
Foreign visitors helped make March a record month for leisure reservations — rooms booked on an individual basis rather than in blocks for events — at the Hotel Monteleone, said Andrea Thornton, director of sales and marketing at the Royal Street hotel.
“We have absolutely noticed an increase in international business, especially from the U.K., Canada and Germany,” Thornton said. While a good part of the hotel’s recent international business is based in the return of conventions to the city, Thornton believes the relative strength of foreign currencies is contributing to hotel bookings.
That, and the weak dollar. “It’s too expensive (for Americans) to go to Europe,” she said.
Thornton likened the situation to the period following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when she said people were scared to travel abroad and opted to come to New Orleans as an alternative.
“We’re seeing that again,” she said, adding that the hotel expects to break another record for leisure bookings this month.
The marketing opportunities presented by the dollar’s decline have not been lost on agencies tasked with selling the city to visitors. The NOMCVB is in the midst of various campaigns designed to promote New Orleans to international travelers in travel brochures, in-flight magazines and on television.
And about seven months ago, the NOMCVB rolled out a new ad as part of its Forever New Orleans campaign aimed at American travelers. The ad, appearing online and in print, declares in bold type, “The Dollar is Still Strong Here.”•
Fair Use Notice
This site occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues and to highlight the accomplishments of our affiliates. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is available without profit. For more information go to: US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.