The City of New Orleans is famous for its events — from parades at Mardi Gras to its world-renowned Jazz Fest and food-themed festivals. The New Orleans Downtown Development District (DDD) is intent on using those celebratory events to drive the city’s visitors to experience and enjoy all the retail that the Canal Street commercial district has to offer.
New Orleans’ focus on history, experiences and food makes stopping and enjoying Downtown New Orleans a natural activity for visitors. Famous restaurants, upscale retailers, music and cultural attractions, plus exciting events repeatedly draw tourists to Canal Street, while positive experiences encourage them to stay and support local businesses.
While many urban districts have seen a dearth of foot traffic in their downtown centers as office vacancy rates increase, the DDD is working to connect consumers with downtown businesses and generate foot traffic. “Last year, we partnered with a major organization that produces most of the Mardi Gras events in our community. Everyone knows New Orleans and its reputation for Mardi Gras and the party we put on. We expanded this party by partnering with Children’s Hospital to create a signature holiday parade in downtown, which provided an additional benefit to many of our restaurants and retailers,” says Davon Barbour, President & CEO of the Downtown Development District.
The DDD wants to use the colorful and exciting reputation of New Orleans to create lasting, shareable memories that will continue to draw visitors downtown and keep them there for longer.
Hear how the DDD is leveraging the draws of the Big Easy to boost local business around Canal Street.
This video was created as part of the Retail Insight newsletter by Shopping Center Business, a brief newsletter series leading up to the ICSC 2023 LAS VEGAS conference and including post-conference video interviews. The videos in the publication are created in conjunction with our content partners, which sponsor the newsletter. Click here to subscribe.