HURRICANE KATRINA'S EFFECT ON THE PERCEPTION OF NEW ORLEANS LEISURE TOURISTS

Destination image is a critical factor to potential travelers. Many say that Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate the tourist destination images of leisure travelers to New Orleans before and after the storm. Further, this study assessed the influence of media exposure and geographic point of origin on perceptions. The results of this research provide fundamental implications for strategic image management that can assist in designing and implementing marketing campaigns to enhance tourism destination images and to overcome prevailing negative ones.