America´s Gulf Coast Struggles to Get Tourism Back in Gear

Two weeks ago, crowds of locals and Hurricane Katrina evacuees gathered in Lafayette, Louisiana, for the Festivals Acadiens. The annual celebration of Cajun culture has a slogan, “Still Standing”, that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Cajuns´ expulsion from Nova Scotia and migration to Louisiana.

But after Hurricane Rita, which slammed ashore near the Louisiana and Texas border, “Still Reeling” more accurately describes the state of tourism along much of the Gulf Coast.

In Lake Charles, Louisiana, known for casinos and sport fishing, officials said this week that power could be out for up to a month. And though Rita did only minor damage in Lafayette, “we´re still assessing damage elsewhere in southwest Louisiana,” state tourism director Angele Davis said.

Even in areas unscathed by Katrina and Rita, at least 90 percent of hotel rooms are occupied by evacuees or relief and construction workers, she says. As a result, “we´re focusing on local tourism.”

Overnight visitors are expected to return to New Orleans by early 2006 and to other parts of the state as evacuees and workers find more permanent housing within the next few weeks to months. Other regional destinations are facing similar problems.