Doug Gordon
Potential
Edit
| Embed Video: |  |
|
If you have never seen the fun and insanity that is Mardi Gras, I feel for you. It is a true celebration of life and all the things that are good about man. Where else do thousands of people show up and anonymously give out $100,000 worth of fun? Many believed that Mardi Gras would suffer greatly from the recession that is sweeping the world, but parade goers bucked the trend to party and celebrate life. In fact, in a recent CNN article, Marnie Hunter interviewed a lot of people from New Orleans and discovered that revenue was up from last year. This just proves that no matter what the situation, the human soul is impossible to crush. So until next Mardi Gras, laissez bon temp roulez!  "Things are sort of buzzing down here right now, and it feels good," said Michael Valentino, a local businessman who owns three hotels in the French Quarter. "Didn't know what to expect this year, but it appears that interest is high and people are acting on that decision in order to make Carnival part of their travel plans."
Hotel bookings are on pace with last year, and the city is anticipating between 700,000 and 800,000 Mardi Gras visitors this year -- at least as many as 2008. Some tourism officials and business owners expect this year's attendance to top last year's numbers because Fat Tuesday, on February 24 this year, falls nearly three weeks later, giving visitors more time to plan and budget for the trip after the winter holidays.
(news.yahoo)References: news.yahoo Filed In: |
| Related (Trend Slideshow OR 31 Photo Slideshow) |
|
;showNav();changeOption('login');)
Log In ;changeOption('guest');)
Guest
Facebook ;changeOption('twitter');)
Twitter 
