Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
INTRODUCTION 
August 29, 2005, the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall, will go down in history as the worst natural 
disaster to befall the United States of America in recent memory. The subsequent storm surge overwhelmed coastal 
communities in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, leaving behind death and destruction of a magnitude 
unimaginable in a modern economically advanced nation. However, a less known fact is that, despite all this, the 
main tourism infrastructure of New Orleans remained intact with only minor damage. This presents an opportunity 
and a challenge for the city’s tourism marketers who have to answer this critical question: How do you promote and 
attract tourists to a destination that has a relatively intact infrastructure but a completely devastated destination 
image? 
PURPOSE 
The purpose of this paper is to describe the events of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the city of New 
Orleans, specifically focusing on market repositioning strategies developed by tourism marketers. The first section 
will be a narrative of vital tourism statistics for the city of New Orleans before the hurricane including a visitor 
profile, tourism demand generators, tourism related infrastructure, marketing strategies and advertising campaigns, 
and image and positioning statements. The second will be an account of the effects of the hurricane on the tourism 
infrastructure, and visitation. The final section will critically examine the effectiveness of recovery marketing 
strategies undertaken by the city’s tourism marketing organizations. This section will focus on repositioning but will 
include discussions on product renewal, target marketing, advertising, and personal selling. 
Although much has been written about the effects of a crisis on a variety of tourism destinations there has 
never been an event that mirrors the unique circumstances of Hurricane Katrina in the United States. Faulkner 
(2001) addressed the distinction between the definitions of a crisis versus that of a disaster but Hurricane Katrina 
can be described as an induced natural phenomenon (a disaster) followed by the inactions of organizations (a crisis). 
Bierman (2003) identified five types of events that could affect a tourism destination, including war and conflict, 
crime, terrorism, natural disasters, and health related crises. He provided examples of eleven specific case studies 

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