For Immediate Release:
Media Contacts:
Kelley Pettus, NOCVB, 504-556-5867, kpettus@neworleanscvb.com

Lea Sinclair, NOTMC, 504-491-5330, lea@notmc.com   

 

New Orleans Earns Top Spots in Destination Rankings Once Again
New Orleans voted a favorite destination by readers of Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Saveur and more

NEW ORLEANS – November 18, 2014 –New Orleans has kicked off fall with recognition from top national publications, such as Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Saveur, Men’s Health and more. The city was named in several annual rankings of destinations for both leisure and business travel.

  • Travel + Leisure released its list of “America’s Favorite Cities” with New Orleans scoring top spots in a number of categories. In the November issue of the magazine, New Orleans was number one in the categories of “Festivals,” “People-watching,” “Quirky,” “Bars,” “Notable Restaurants,” “Antique Stores,” “Cocktail Bars,” “Dive Bars,” “Sandwiches” and “Wild Weekend.” New Orleans also made the list for the categories of “Historical Sites,” “Live Music Scene,” “Architecture,” “Gay-Friendly Vacation,” “Girlfriend Getaway” and “Romantic Escape.” The rankings were determined by Travel + Leisure readers, who evaluated 38 cities in 67 categories.
  • Condé Nast Traveler asked readers to rate their favorite cities to name the “Top 25 Cities in the World” in their November issue. New Orleans was named number 17, one of only five U.S. cities to make the list. The number one city was Florence, followed closely by Charleston and Budapest. Condé Nast Traveler’s 77,000 readers ranked New Orleans as one of the “Friendliest Cities in the U.S.” in a separate survey in August 2014.
  • Saveur magazine released its Culinary Travel Awards in its October issue, naming New Orleans the “Best Culinary Destination in the Small Domestic Market.” The awards took into account 21 categories, and “Small Domestic” was defined by a population below 800,000. Brooklyn was named “Best Culinary Destination in the Large Domestic Market.”
  • New Orleans was named one of the “Friendliest Cities in America” in the September issue of Men’s Health Magazine. The city ranked number seven. Among other criteria, the list took into account the accessibility of public parks, which make citizens more likely to play sports, volunteer and help neighbors.
  • The city was named one of the “Top 10 Music Cities for Meetings and Events” in ConventionSouth Magazine’s September issue based on reader votes evaluating 40 Southern destinations.
  • Cvent, a leading cloud-based enterprise event management platform used globally, named New Orleans one of the “Top 10 Meeting Destinations in the U.S.” in August 2014 after evaluating more than 5,000 cities on meeting and event activity and venues.
  • New Orleans was named a top city for “Economic Growth Potential” and the city with the “Fastest Growing U.S. Airport” by Business Facilities Magazine in the August issue’s annual Metro Rankings Report, evaluating exports growth and renewable energy as well as other categories. Louisiana was recognized as the “Best Business Climate” in the overall Rankings Report, taking into account both growth potential and verifiable performance in particular.

“As locals, we all know that New Orleans is one of the most dynamic and invigorating destinations in the world for both business and leisure visitors, but these kind of third party endorsements from the readers of nationally and internationally respected publications prove to the world that New Orleans should be on the top of their list of places to visit.,” said New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Stephen Perry. “We continue to receive this incredible recognition because of the hard work of the more than 81,000 ladies and gentlemen who work in the tourism industry and provide wonderful, authentic New Orleans experiences every day.”

Mark Romig, President and CEO or New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) said, "New Orleans is a model for the nation in tourism, economic development, and as a great city in which to live. We are honored to continue to receive these important indicators of our success and we welcome the many awards we receive as we continue to create the best visitor experience in the world.”

For a comprehensive list of awards, click here.

The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau is a nationally accredited, 1,100-member destination marketing organization and the largest and most successful private economic development corporation in Louisiana. The CVB and its members influence thousands of decision-makers and millions of visitors to choose New Orleans through direct sales, marketing, public relations, branding and visitor services at our New Orleans headquarters and offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago and four foreign countries. Consistently recognized as one of the top five CVBs in the country, the New Orleans CVB celebrates its 54th anniversary in 2014. For more information, please visit www.neworleanscvb.com; www.facebook.com/neworleans; www.twitter.com/neworleans.

About New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC)
NOTMC promotes the city as a leisure tourism destination throughout the year. Annually, NOTMC’s marketing campaigns include strategic print, broadcast, and Internet advertising and public relations. Websites: NewOrleansOnline.com; followyournola.com; GoNOLA.com; Facebook.com/NewOrleans; Twitter.com/visitneworleans; Instagram.com/VisitNewOrleans; YouTube.com/gonolatv

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