FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

                TOUR GUIDE ASSOCIATION TO OFFER FREE CITY TOURS TO LOCAL RESIDENTS

NEW ORLEANS – In celebration of the spirit of “Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown,” the Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans will host its annual “Local’s Day,” offering metropolitan area residents free bus tours of the city on Sunday, August 10, 2008. Two tours will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, departing and returning from the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau’s tourism headquarters. The NOMCVB is located at 2020 St. Charles Avenue.

The first tour will depart the NOMCVB at 10:00 a.m. and the second will depart at 1:00 p.m. Tours are approximately two hours in duration and will include narration by professional tour guides who are members of the Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans. Buses will be provided by Louisiana Coaches.

Tours will follow a route called the “City Tour” and is designed to offer an overview of the city and its rich history. It does not include the Lower Ninth Ward and Chalmette, a route that has come to be known as the “Katrina Tour.”

“To many visitors who take the city tour, it is their first look at New Orleans, hopefully beginning their romance with this great city we all call home,” said Mary LaCoste, tour guide and one of the organizers of Local’s Day. “It is our pleasure to invite our fellow residents to fall in love again with New Orleans and remind them of all the wonderful sights that make our city so special and unique.”

For more information, contact Mary LaCoste, 504-561-8097 (home) or the NOMCVB, 504-566-5011.

WHO: Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans

WHAT: Free city tours of New Orleans, approximately 2 hours in duration, offered on a first-come first-served basis

WHEN: Sunday, August 10, 2008

First tour departs at 10:00 a.m., second tour departs at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Tours depart from the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau offices 2020 St. Charles Avenue

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