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GNO Inc. did the perception study (Bridging the Perception Gap: Results of National Opinion Survey) of New Orleans and it shows four out of ten would consider moving to the Crescent City if given the opportunity; and that increases to six out of ten for individuals who have visited in the past two years, showing that visiting improves perception.
It seems the Super Bowl could have a much wider economic impact than the nearly half a billion dollars that will immediately be felt. CEO Michael Hecht says "They are missing these much broader effects (in the impact dollar amounts). Individuals, now we know, empirically, who come to visit want to stay here. So I think since we put on such a successful week and the town showed itself so well that this will have a positive impact on net in-migration something of which we've now had for five years. This will only help."
For the full study from GNO Inc., click here
The study shows overall Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill actually helped bolster impressions of the city as tough and resilient. But it also elevated concerns about the city's susceptibility to disaster and subpar quality of life.
"The good news from the study is that everybody loves New Orleans and we're a beloved brand," says Hecht "And people have very positive associations with us particularly in terms of culture." But the study also shows people are very concerned about flooding here, inspite of the fact that we came through Hurricane Isaac bone dry.
But his outlook for New Orleans is much broader than just the impact of the Super Bowl. "We could really be one of the boom regions for the next 20 years, not only because of what we're doing here, but also if you look at what's happening in the economy particularly in energy where there's going to be an oil and gas boom nationally, centered on the Gulf coast," says Hecht.
