Robson Hatsukami Morgan

Wanderlust Awards Name New Orleans Most Desirable City

12:00 November 14, 2022
By: Noah Rozzell

Wanderlust Magazine Awards Name New Orleans Most Desirable City Outside of Europe

London's own Wanderlust Magazine has declared New Orleans to be the "Most Desirable City Outside of Europe" at their 2022 Wanderlust Travel Awards. At the awards, Wanderlust picks "Most Desirable City" in two categories: Cities in Europe and Cities in the rest of the world. Each year, Wanderlust picks the annual winners based on votes sent in by their readers. In 2021, New Orleans showed up in the results, getting 10th in "Most Desirable City (Long Haul)". This year however, at the 21st Annual Travel Awards ceremony, New Orleans got the recognition it deserves and was voted number one.

New Orleans Attractions

Wanderlust stated that New Orleans is one of the heights of musical culture in the whole world. New Orleans is highly regarded for its prevalence and diversity of live music including jazz, funk, rock, reggae, blues and so much more. Visitors to New Orleans will be surprised however at just how prevalent music is here, with bands playing on corners late into the night and playing in restaurants and bars seven days a week. They also noted New Orleans unique cuisine as a reason for it's win, and they even served classic New Orleans dishes and cocktails at the ceremony including Gumbo, Shrimp Remoulade, the French 75, the Sazerac, and Bayou Rum. Again, visitors will be surprised at just how much more local cuisine there is here, and how diverse it can be.

Local Reaction

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser was happy to learn about the award stating: "It's very exciting for New Orleans to receive this kind of recognition"..."It is clear that the world is thinking more and more of New Orleans and Louisiana as a destination for their bucket lists. We can't wait to welcome all these visitors and show them all the ways you can 'Feed Your Soul in Louisiana'". Despite the city's excitement over this potential growth in tourism, many locals have had growing concerns for years about over tourism. For years, tourism in New Orleans has been severely mismanaged, and as a result of this locals have felt under-appreciated and disrespected by tourists and the tourism industry. Furthermore, short term rentals like VRBO and AirBnB have been causing spikes in rents and forcing locals to relocate. While more tourism is great for the economy, it needs to be reevaluated and properly managed to preserve the true heart of New Orleans; its community.

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