New Orleans is trying to come back from the devastation caused by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, it's not there yet and as a visitor to the city, it's hard to tell when it will be ready.
As you arrive in New Orleans from the east, you still pass entire neighborhoods and shopping centers that are abandoned. Because of the shortage of housing, New Orleans is one of the only cities in the country where property values rose from last year to this year. That gets to another problem making life hard in the Big Easy.
Without affordable housing, it is difficult, if not impossible for the tourist industry to return to life. There are simply very few places for workers to live.
That is apparent by looking at the service industry. My wife and I recently stayed in a French Quarter hotel that wasn't cheap. There was no one to help with parking (which is an immediate problem in the narrow streets of the Quarter). Those at the desk were surly. Rooms weren't ready when promised. There was no one to seat you in the restaurant. Once you did get seated and served, it was difficult to find the waitress to get your check. (It took me 25 minutes. I had to go searching into the kitchen to find her. The cooks didn't know where she was, either.)
Granted, mine was not a comprehensive look at tourism in New Orleans. But if I were either a returning visitor or someone visiting for the first time, I would think twice about spending my vacation dollars there based on what happened.
