The New Orleans Morial Convention Center produced $103.47 million in new tax revenue and $1.26 billion in total statewide economic impact last year, the first year following Hurricane Katrina that it was fully open for business, according to a report released last week.
The report, the "2007 Economic Impact Report," was prepared by Dr. Timothy Ryan, chancellor of the University of New Orleans. In it, Ryan gathers that the New Orleans Morial Convention Center hosted 101 major conventions and tradeshows in 2007, attracting a total of 330,255 attendees.
"The 2007 results for the Morial Convention Center show that the City and the convention industry are making a remarkable rebound from Hurricane Katrina," Ryan said in a statement. "This is surely one of the bright signs for the entire New Orleans economy in the continuing struggle to fully recover."
Spending by visitors, along with the convention center's operations, produced a statewide impact of $1,257.49 million in 2007, which includes $667.41 million in direct spending and $590.08 million in secondary spending. As previously stated, it also generated $103.47 million in new tax revenue—$60.01 million for the State of Louisiana and $43.46 million for local government bodies, including the City of New Orleans.
Said Ryan, "The Morial Convention Center is still one of the largest and most important economic generators of the State of Louisiana."
Attendance and direct spending in the New Orleans area economy due to conventions and tradeshows at the Morial Convention Center were up 88 percent and 75 percent in 2007, respectively, over 2006 figures, according to Ryan's report, which projects continued increases for 2008 and 2009—despite the nation's current economic downturn. In fact, exhibit hall occupancy is projected at 48 percent for 2008 and 51.6 percent for 2009, which is nearly 6 percent higher than the convention center's 2004 pre-Katrina occupancy of 46 percent.
"Dr. Ryan's report is very encouraging, but we know there is still hard work ahead of us," said Bob Johnson, president and general manager of the New Orleans Morial Convention Center and vide president of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority, its governing board. "Our near-term successes and the overall pace of recovery is a true testament to the hard work of our staff and collaborative efforts of the entire hospitality community."
For more information about the New Orleans Morial Convention Center—which boasts 1.1 million square feet of contiguous exhibit space, and which in its 23-year history has hosted 1,789 major conventions and tradeshows, not to mention 11.26 million attendees—visit
www.mccno.com.