New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.

So far in 2007, New Orleans has safely hosted more than one million visitors for our Mardi Gras celebrations, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, major sporting events, cultural festivals, and large conventions with tens of thousands of attendees.

Testimonials from leisure visitors and travel industry professionals are available here: www.neworleanscvb.com/static/index.cfm/contentID/752/sectionID/2/subsectionID/752

Testimonials from business travelers and convention visitors are available here: www.neworleanscvb.com/static/index.cfm/contentID/744/sectionID/3/subsectionID/744

New Orleans’ popular tourist areas such as the French Quarter, Downtown/Central Business District, Uptown, Garden District, Magazine Street, Warehouse/Arts District and Convention Center Boulevard continue to maintain a record as one of the safest and most walkable places for visitors of any city in America.

Unfortunately--as in any major city--crime does exist, and in New Orleans, the vast majority of violent crime is criminal-on-criminal acts which occur in areas of the city not frequented by tourists.

The New Orleans Police Department is known nationally for its record in making New Orleans a safe place to visit, ranging from large-scale crowd control events such as Mardi Gras, to four or five individuals enjoying a weekend getaway. Today the citizen-to-police ratio is much higher than it was pre-Katrina and we have backup from a new police recruit class, the National Guard and state police troopers to maintain a visible and serious law-enforcement presence.

As with any destination, we recommend that vacationers and convention attendees practice common sense and stay in well-populated tourist areas when they are here. New Orleans remains a national treasure and we want everyone who visits it to have a safe and enjoyable time.