Date of Award

5-2018

Thesis Date

5-2018

Degree Type

Honors Thesis-Unrestricted

Degree Name

B.S.

Department

Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration

Degree Program

Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism

Director

Kim Williams

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the resiliency of the New Orleans lodging and tourism industry by conducting a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is composed of four key parts: the internal influences that are the strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and the external influences that are the opportunities (O) and threats (T). New Orleans is characterized by the ability to use its internal strengths to drive growth in its lodging and tourism market. The main internal strengths I identified were the city’s strong cultural identity, and destination attractiveness in both the convention and leisure markets.

However, New Orleans also has internal weaknesses that adversely affect the perception of the city: cultural arrogance, crime and cleanliness. Externally, the city is presented with several opportunities to become one of the top tourist destinations both nationally and internationally. The marketing opportunities available to New Orleans are through the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, the healthcare and film industries, and the city’s accessibility. The city’s reach is limited by several key threats, such as short-term rentals, competing markets such as Charleston and Atlanta, and natural disasters that could disrupt New Orleans’ position as one of the top visitor markets in the United States.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this honors thesis in whole or part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the honors thesis.

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