NEW ORLEANS (press release) – In a press conference today, New Orleans & Company announced details of three promotional plans aimed at driving business to culture bearers and tourism industry businesses including restaurants, hotels and attractions that have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fall Road Trip campaign and COOLinary Encore will work in tandem to aid in stimulating local business in the months of October and November. Beginning in December, Holidays New Orleans Style will encourage family fun and holiday excursions to the city.
According to research from the US Travel Association, the travel and tourism industry is suffering around the entire U.S. with tepid progress in recent weeks. Last week, travel spending grew by 5%, resulting in the greatest non-holiday-assisted increase since June. As the City of New Orleans’ largest economic sector, it is crucial to reignite the tourism industry locally.
Stephen Perry, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company stressed, “Tourism is responsible for driving $10.5 billion that churns through our economy creating 100,000 jobs and 43% of the city’s operating budget. As the hospitality industry goes, so goes the city of New Orleans. We absolutely love our city … a city of human beings from so many cultural backgrounds, representing people that live on every street in every neighborhood, and we must get back on our feet financially. If New Orleans & Company is not able to attract and secure additional marketing dollars, the recovery of New Orleans will be greatly slowed down and the most in peril will be: the regular working people, musicians, culture bearers, and restaurants.”
New Orleans & Company Chief Marketing Officer Mark Romig added, “Tourism is not a closed system. The ripple effect of dollars spent in tourism will benefit our community far beyond the restaurants, hotels and attractions – wholesalers, purveyors, beverage companies, delivery companies and linen supply companies are all directly impacted, as well as the New Orleanians who work in all these great establishments and spend their money throughout the city. That’s why our goal with these marketing campaigns is to encourage visitors to come and stimulate business, in a safe way, during these challenging times.”
COOLinary Encore
The restaurant program, COOLinary Encore, is a five-week extension of the annual summer favorite COOLinary, that will run October 19-November 22. The campaign has been designed in partnership with local restauranteurs to continue encouraging locals and drive market visitors to support local restaurants during this challenging time. The program will be supported with paid media, including digital and television, earned media and on our social media channels throughout the greater New Orleans area. The ripple effect of tourism in our community is strong, and the impact goes far beyond restaurants – wholesalers, purveyors, beverage companies, delivery companies, linen supply companies, etc. are all impacted.
The fall program will differ from the summer program in the following ways:
- Pricing and Programming: COOLinary Encore will offer more flexibility of price and program requirements. This fall we will promote a 2-course prix fixe lunch at $22 or less. The 3-course prix fixe dinners and brunches will now be priced at $40 or less. All available for dine-in, take-out and delivery.
- Theme Promotion: To encourage repeat diners throughout the campaign and to capitalize on media opportunities, we are promoting five weekly themes including seafood, New Orleans classics, poboys & sandwiches, and gumbos & soups
| WEEK | DATES | THEME |
| Week 1 | October 19-October 25 | Seafood |
| Week 2 | October 26-November 1 | Seafood |
| Week 3 | November 2-November 8 | New Orleans Classics |
| Week 4 | November 9-November 15 | Poboys & Sandwiches |
| Week 5 | November 16-November 22 | Gumbos & Soups |
- Upgrades and Enhancements: Restaurants have the option to improve average check revenues, by adding upgrades such as wine flights, bottle of wine offers, specialty cocktails and premium food add-ons, etc. for an additional fee.
- Currently more than 50 restaurants have signed up and we expect more to join in the coming days. New restaurants participating this fall who have never participated include Justine, The Franklin, Acme Oyster House (Iberville location), Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Gianna, Meril, Gattuso’s Neighborhood Restaurant and the list keeps growing.
- For the full list of restaurants, please visit: www.neworleans.com/coolinary.
Fall Road Trip Campaign
The “Road Trip” campaign will target the regional drive market including key markets such as Jackson, Dallas and Houston. The campaign will leverage New Orleans’ natural appeal as a fall travel destination – amazing weather, seasonal dishes, restaurants and attractions open for business – as well as timely savings opportunities such as hotel deals (currently being solicited from hotel partners) and the COOLinary Encore program. The goal of the campaign is to encourage visitors to come and safely patronize local businesses during these challenging times by highlighting businesses that are currently open and encouraging potential guests to start planning their trip.
Holidays New Orleans Style
While many things are different in the current climate, New Orleans remains an ideal holiday destination. Holidays New Orleans Style will continue to take place this December encouraging locals and visitors to dine out, shop and experience festive celebrations and attractions throughout the month of December. New Orleans & Company is currently collecting plans and offers from our partners and will formally launch the campaign in late November.
New Orleans & Company is committed to supporting the tourism industry and leading the way through these unprecedented times. We encourage locals and visitors alike to continue celebrating the unique culinary and cultural features of New Orleans in the safest way possible. While supporting our local businesses, please be sure to wear a mask, practice social distancing and wash your hands often.
Commercials and supporting images can be downloaded at this link: Photos & Commercials
