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Realtors stick with New Orleans
The National Association of Realtors has voted to stick with New Orleans rather than to seek an alternative site for its convention and exposition, scheduled for November 8-13, 2006.
The association will also mount a national education campaign to encourage Realtors and exhibitors to attend. NAR says the convention will bring as much as $34 million in convention revenues, and represents a commitment to rebuilding the city.
NAR President Tom Stevens says he has met with local New Orleans authorities to review the damage and reconstruction efforts following Hurricane Katrina and to assess their ability to meet the needs of NAR and its members. He said that downtown, the French Quarter and the Garden District largely escaped flooding, and that essential services have been fully restored in those areas. The conference center and conference hotels are bustling with hundreds of workmen repairing hurricane destruction, and accelerating planned pre-Katrina renovations. Restaurants are reopening on a daily basis, and plans are under way for Mardi Gras in February, he says.
“The health and safety of our members are our primary concerns. We have done our research and we are convinced New Orleans will be a safe and healthful venue for our convention,” Stevens says. Starting in June there will be citywide conferences, many attracting over 20,000 attendees, well before the NAR annual meeting in November. NAR says 26,477 Realtors, exhibitors and guests attended NAR’s 2005 annual meeting and expo held in San Francisco last October.
The NAR president and staff traveled to New Orleans last month to see for themselves whether the city and its convention facilities will be ready. “And they will,” says Stevens. “It’s amazing how fast the city has pulled together and the progress they have made to get things back to normal. “Our annual meeting will help to provide jobs for residents to rebuild their lives and revenues for the city to restore services. We will have a wonderful conference as we celebrate the rebirth of this legendary American city,” Stevens said.
NAR says it will provide members continuous reports on the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans during the year to assure Realtors that the city will be ready for them in November.
December 11, 2005 in Agency Matters | Permalink
