What makes your city a top meeting/convention destination?
It's, well, New Orleans. New Orleans isn't a "contrived," pre-fabricated destination. It's the birthplace of jazz, home to some of the greatest restaurants and service in the world, and an oasis of history and charm on the Mississippi. We also have premier convention facilities and an extremely wide selection of accommodations, from world-class corporate hotels to boutique properties and French-style mid-size properties with French Quarter courtyards.
Tell us about a meeting you're thrilled to have just booked, or a recent meeting you're very pleased with.
The American Library Association met in New Orleans in June 2006, becoming the first major association meeting to be held in our convention center after Hurricane Katrina. Until that point, all meeting professionals and association executives were watching to see whether we were really "back" after the storm. Not only did the American Library Association event send the message that we were indeed back; it went so well that the group will return to New Orleans in 2011 and 2018.
What is your position on destination leadership?
It's a tremendous responsibility! This isn't just a sales and marketing role, but a role in which we're advocating for our hospitality partners in everything from infrastructure improvements to public policy. Destination leaders are also in the driver's seat in terms of defining the brand of communication to the world marketplace.
What green initiatives has your city/convention center undertaken?
Our convention center is the single largest donator of untouched surplus food to the local America's Second Harvest food bank. The center itself has established permanent recycling programs for all trash and cardboard and is posting more and more information online to conserve paper.

New Orleans also has a hospitality industry-wide "green committee" whose members are focusing on encouraging initiatives to reuse, reduce, and recycle - whether it's eliminating disposable coffee cups at catered events to serving condiments in containers rather than packets.
How have destination marketing organizations (DMOs) evolved over the past 10 years, and how do you see the role of the bureau changing in the future?
There's much more of an emphasis now on accountability and benchmarking for DMOs.

DMOs have also assumed a much more primary role in leading branding and public relations initiatives, as well as in promoting cities' image not just to visitors, but to the locals, as a means of helping these cities develop true "personalities" that boost their appeal to planners and tourists alike.

In the future, we're going to see bureaus becoming more and more mainstream participants in destinations' economic development.

What is your biggest challenge as a DMO?
For me, it's making sure that the average consumer around the country and around the world understands that despite Hurricane Katrina, the architecture and history integral to New Orleans remain. The French Quarter, the downtown convention center area, and our hotels and restaurants have been rejuvenated and look better than they have in years. It may take awhile in other neighborhoods, but we're well on our way.