Just saw this headline on Yahoo -

So, it may indeed be possible for the Fodorite to visit NO as scheduled at the end of the month (September).

The meanness in some of the posts from the deleted thread truly discouraged me and I've not been on the board for a couple of weeks. For all of us that said "wait and see", we evidently weren't as incredibly stupid as some claimed.

For those of us that said the tourist industry needs our dollars as soon as possible, we're going to have our chance sooner than expected.

Can't wait for a chance to toast the French Quarter and New Orleans. God bless.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ricane_katrina

The owner of Broussards says he is ready to open, but no power, no water, no food & no staff.

Breannan's is ready to reopen as soon as water and power are back on. He's ready to roll in two days - if only to serve workers and not tourists.

It's amazing how well the French Quarter and homes on higher ground fared.

By the end of the month? Let's get real, folks. Sure, it's good news that SOME (read that "a few") businesses will reopen, and yes, it would be nice to help the New Orleans economy. But, it'll be some time before the city returns to its former grandeur (if that's the right word).

starrsville, being stuck in a tourist location after a hurricane shut it down, I remember too well how bad they need tourist dollars.

Thanks for posting.

But how will you catch a cab there from the airport with no cab drivers, and (more difficult) how will people fly in with hardly any commercial flights in or out of the airport? I'd still recommend waiting a while for things to really get back to normal...

and.....where would you stay all the hotels had their windows blown out.

I don't think it is reasonable to plan a trip there in the near future, until a few of the hotels are able to get repairs done. I'm sure there will be financial assistance as there was after 9/11 in NYC for companies to tide them over until more recovery has happened.

I think you will see some enterprising use of Algiers/West Bank as the entrance to the city by ferry, speedboat etc

"and.....where would you stay all the hotels had their windows blown out?"

This is the kind of totally misinformed post that causes mass confusion. What hotels IN the French Quarter had their windows blown out?

I'm really happy that the French Quarter fared so well. I have had reservations at a hotel there for quite a while, with arrival scheduled in early October. But I am going to cancel my reservations because the rest of the city (a lot of it at any rate) will not be ready. Certainly most of the city's infrastructure will not be up and running in a few weeks. And the amount of severe pollution being found might have to be cleaned up before many visitors can be really safe.

There's no meanness in my saying these things. I think if a person wants to go to the FQ in the near future, he/she is not going to enjoy the things that many visitors normally enjoy. Again, this is only my opinion, but having grown up in the area and having been in New Orleans countless times, I know that a meaningful recovery of the city's facilities is still many months, if not a couple of years away.

Let's see. what will you do? There was a feature on NPR about the folks that play in the jazz places--no instruments? Who is going to be the waiters and busboys. The maids in the hotels? I wish it would be true, but being "open" may not mean "ready for toursists".

That's what I was thinking Patrick! You saw the Hyatt with blown out windows, wantsomesun, but even that is up and running as a 75 room hotel with water (cold as of Sunday anyway) and A/C, housing support staff for the clean-up! And here's a report from a friend of ours connected with Sonesta: "The Royal Sonesta NO is back in action housing CNN and various relief agencies. Power generators for all the hotel and the water is back running. They are now trying to get a restaurant and bar in operation."

With a mandatory evacuation though, where would they find the personnel to keep the hotels and restaurants running, other than the bare minimum necessities? End of the month sounds optimistic, but stranger things have happened when people put their minds to it.

It's sheer insanity, foolishness and, yes, perhaps even stupidity, to think that the French Quarter will be in any shape to meet, greet and treat tourists by the end of September.....or October....or perhaps even later, for that matter.

From what I've seen and read, Gretchen is right. Although a few valiant business owners have said they'll welcome anyone who shows up--and indeed, in the Quarter, some bars never even closed--officials mean that the Quarter will be open for residents and business people to return freely. That does not mean "open for business as usual". But I can't say what the right thing to do is. IMO, it's too soon to burden these people with guests. But when the time is right, they will certainly need our tourist dollars, as well as a plan for reducing NO's dependence on tourism.

Aw, bunchargum has a little friend! Or a new personality has emerged from the teeming cesspool in his head...

Actually, I suspect it will be surprising how quickly parts of NO bounce back once power and water are restored to them.

Keep in mind that although much of the area will be uninhabitable for quite some time, there's going to be an army of clean-up and construction workers there who are going to need places to stay and places to eat. As an undamaged area, the French Quarter will be a nighttime magnet for these folks.

Yes labor may be scarce to begin with - but to begin with so will the patrons. As the number of patrons grows, so too will the number of waiters and cooks.

You may start to see the area begin to be "fairly" lively by early October (though not what it was before the storm). By the end of October, I'll bet it will be pretty busy there again.

With tourism being such a big part of the New Orleans economy, you can bet that the city will do everything it cam to revitalize tourism as soon as possible.

Now Orleans suffered terribly - but mostly not in the tourist areas. The French Quarter is apparently intact, as is most of the Garden District.

Ken

Oooh, Bunch has a new little friend!

If Ray Nagin says the French Quarter is open for business then I'll beleive him and if I have the money, I'll visit.

I would imagine the man IN CHARGE of the city would have thought through those pesky little details like public transporation, restaurants, accommodations, and the like before announcing to the world that his city is open for business.

I would love to be able to go down soon! But I'm not sure of the logistics. It's still being reported on our local news that unless you have proof that you are a resident or own a business, you're not allowed in. At least for Jefferson Parish, and you have to go through that to get to the French Quarter.

The FQ will serve as the food & bed resources for CNN, Fema, contractors, consultants--all people on expense accts first and then visitors will come. It will come slowly but surely.

What may be more devastating is the idea being tossed out by fish and game officials is that we may not be able to eat La seafood for a decade due to pollution

According to the Washington Post, the timetable for allowing residents back in is being moved up for certain areas. A sizeable portion (1/3) of the city will be allowing residents to gradually return over the next couple weeks. The population of these areas is 170,000. Obviously there are many things down there that need to be fixed and cleaned up, but I don't think there will be a problem finding unemployed residents who need a paycheck and will be willing to do whatever they can, including staffing restaurants/hotels and other tourist destinations.