Associated Press Perpetuating New Orleans Misperceptions
We're still picking our jaws up off the floor at the latest University of New Orleans poll that shows more than half of respondents think the city is one of the nation's most dangerous. The same survey says a third of people think the French Quarter was one of the hardest hit areas during Katrina, and about one in four people think parts of the city are still underwater.
Wrong, wrong and wrong. The Quarter was largely spared major damage and flood waters are long gone. While New Orleans does have some crime, you probably won't get caught in it unless you go looking for trouble. (We suggest you don't.) But USA Today, which ran the AP story about the poll early this morning, isn't helping correct misconceptions with the headline "New Orleans crime may be keeping visitors away."
We beg to differ: 3.8 million folks stopped by in 2006, and New Orleans will host 6 million by the end of 2007. That's not bad, given the fact that airlines slashed service to Louis Armstrong International after the storm and entire tracts of the city remained evacuated for months.
We hate to sound boostery, but the last thing New Orleans needs after so much progress is more "scary" headlines.
Related Stories:
· New Orleans Crime May Be Keeping Visitors Away [AP, via USA Today]
· The Streetcars Are Back [Jaunted]
· New Orleans Travel Map [Jaunted]
· New Orleans Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Bob Jagendorf]
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