New Orleans Mardi Gras is letting the good times roll with an economic impact of nearly 900 million dollars on the Big Easy’s economy, according to a study from Tulane professor, Toni Weiss. That’s roughly three percent of the city’s GDP. Weiss says a huge amount of that economic activity is generated by New Orleanians.
“It’s the krewes. It’s the krewe members. It’s the local citizenry that are spending their dollars on Mardi Gras that’s generating that economic activity.”
When tourists from around the world come to Orleans Parish to spend money on hotels, food, and other items during carnival season, Weiss says that helps generate more than 14 million dollars in state tax revenue. She says thousands of individuals in hospitality and other industries benefit from the nearly month and a half long celebration of carnival.
“That’s a lot of jobs. That indicates that there are a lot of people who are employed and earning their living in large part because of Mardi Gras.”
The net fiscal benefit accrued to the city as a result of staging and other features during carnival season is over 28 million dollars. The city’s return on investment is two dollars and sixty-four cents for every dollar spent.
Weiss says her last study conducted in 2014 found Mardi Gras contributed more than 400 million dollars to New Orleans. She says tourism continues to grow and so does the economy.
“We certainly seen a huge increase and these are nominal numbers. So these are real dollars. Since 2014 til now we have had some inflation but I think we can all agree that Mardi Gras every year get bigger and better.”
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