New Orleans, Louisiana, has been voted ‘America’s Favourite City” by the readers of Leisure and Travel Magazine.
In the annual ‘America’s Favourite Cities’ survey, 35 metropolitan areas of the USA were evaluated against criteria that make an impression on travellers. Which city has the widest array of hotel options, which offers the best museums, flea markets, microbrews, and which locals are the friendliest or have the sweetest accents were some of the 66 topics tested. New Orleans scored top five in more than half of them and was a “clear winner”, said Katrina Brown Hunt of Leisure and Travel Magazine.
The fine dining, architecture, music scene, gay-friendliness and people-watching were among New Orleans’ strongest categories, including wild weekends, antiques and cafes.
Jody Hanson, Director of the UK office for New Orleans CVB and Louisiana Office of Tourism, saids: “I am elated with the results! New Orleans has been garnering a great deal of recognition lately, especially at World Travel Market in London this November, where it won a World Tourism Award for the extraordinary success of its transformation and rebirth post-Katrina and in the wake of the DeepWater Horizon oil spill, spurring new economic growth, tourism and employment. In addition, the Gulf Coast USA has just been voted into the top 10 regions to visit in 2013 by Lonely Planet.
“New Orleans welcomes all to see why it’s such a vibrant, colourful and award winning city!”
