In a bid to entice connection seekers, the City of NOLA has released an eight-minute, immersive virtual reality experience with its agency partner Dentsu Creative. The experience is designed for viewing on Oculus headsets and accessible via YouTube. This is New Orleans’s first foray using this technology medium.
According to AMEX’s 2022 Global Travel Trends report, 81% of people want to travel where they can immerse themselves in local cultures. And Post-COVID, more than half of consumers want to blend IRL
“Travel has taken on new meaning, after years of lost time and uncertainty” says New Orleans + Company CMO Mark Romig. “People aren’t looking for places to escape to. They’re looking for places to connect with others while rediscovering themselves.”
“It’s an invitation to gather with our culture bearers—people who carry our city’s heritage as they shape who we are today and make way for those who’ll take us into the future,” adds Romig of the experience.
Participants can journey through dinner and tour the homes, studios and theaters of notable New Orleans entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, chefs, activists and more. Some oof the notables include: Chef Isaac Toups, Amanda Toups, BMike, My Nguyen, Stanton Moore, Demond Melancon, Ben Jaffe, Doreen Ketchens, Gladney, Joe Henry, Huong Pham and Leona Tate. Mason Hereford, Neal Bodenheimer, Samantha Fish, Arthur Roger and Ti Martin also joins the array of participants.
The documentary-styled virtual reality experience delves into the origins of drum kits, as well as the vibrancy of the city’s Black Indian and Vietnamese fishing communities and its community-serving art scene. Photographer Kyle Weeks, who has never been to New Orleans, was invited to capture portraits and candids of the meal. Watch below:
“New Orleans is like another member of the family,” shares Co-Proprietor of Commander’s Palace, Ti Martin, at the dinner party. “People from other cities—it’s just where they live. For us, it really feels like another member of our family and we’ll do any damn thing for it.”
REELated:
“We’re showing what’s waiting in New Orleans in the most intimate and unscripted way possible, through the eyes of residents,” adds Romig. “And while Bourbon Street and beignets are rightfully some of the first things people think about when they hear New Orleans, we wanted to take people off the beaten path.”
Behind the Scenes
2020 was declared the “worst year in tourism history” by the World Tourism Organization. The US Travel Association said business travel in 2022 is only roughly 75% of what it was in 2019—which may not fully recover until 2024—with leisure travel now exceeding pre-COVID levels. For New Orleans specifically, 2019 was a historic tourism year with 19 million visitors and over $10 billion in revenue coming into the city. By 2021, New Orleans reports rebounding to 15 million visitors.
New Orleans + Company conducted a multi-generational study in partnership with Prodege in March of 2022 to inform this initiative by accessing how people’s travel needs and prioritizes have shifted in the last two years:
- 95% of participants reported openness to take weekday leisure trips
- 96% of participants admitted they’ve been in a rut—either feeling burnt out or having a general sense that things weren’t going their way
- Beyond a greater desire to travel, the majority of participants desired to schedule shorter and closer-distance trips
“What we do very well here is we give a reason for people to come together. We give reason for communities to mingle and engage—whether it’s around food, celebrations, performances or art,” adds visual artist Brandan “BMike” Odums, who is also at the gathering. “What’s beautiful is our resilience as it’s displayed through our creativity.”
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