The Times-Picayune reports all of the center’s 10 halls were occupied this weekend for the American College of Cardiology and the Boat Show. It’s the first time the entire center has been occupied since last July.
Festival organizers are also projecting record crowds and many hotels have sold-out status.
“The only way that I can characterize it would be that it’s robust. The spring is terrific,” said Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau. “You can actually feel it when you’re out on the street. We’ve had weekends this year where it’s been difficult to find a room.”
During the height of the spring season — the months of April and May — 136,310 people will attend events at the convention center that require hotel stays. The 13 events will generate 185,983 room-nights. That compares with 114,800 in attendance last year, a more than 18 percent increase in the number of convention attendees.
Perry said he had been concerned that this year would not compare favorably with 2010. A spike in traffic was recorded that year on the heels of the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl victory, and a robust advertising campaign paid for with a windfall in the form of a $5 million tourism marketing grant from BP following last spring’s oil spill.
Those concerns were put to rest following a well-attended Mardi Gras celebration, which overlapped with spring break for many colleges around the nation, said Perry. “We’re expecting this year’s spring to be equally as strong if not up 3 to 5 percent” in terms of hotel occupancy."
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