New Orleans Cancels City-Wide Conventions Until At Least December

NEW ORLEANS— All city-wide conventions have been cancelled until at least Dec. 1 in the wake of the citys flooding, according to the Convention & Visitors Bureau. A decision will be made this week on the status of city-wide conventions scheduled for December through March 2006. Through 2004, New Orleans has been ranked as the countrys fifth largest convention city, following Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando. and New York. Industry experts have estimated that New Orleands will lose $1 billion in city-wide convention bookings in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding