Tourism impacts in the Vieux Carre: An analysis of cultural issues, residential perspectives, and sustainable tourism planning (Louisiana)

Tourism has consistently grown within New Orleans over the last few decades. The main attraction for tourism is the Vieux Carré, a residential neighborhood with a unique historical background and known for its old world charm and character. As tourism has grown, so have its impacts. This dissertation examines the impacts of tourism in the Vieux Carré, Specifically, this research focuses on cultural commercialization and how New Orleans culture is communicated to tourists. Additionally, residential perspectives are analyzed because it is their place which contributes to the uniqueness of the community. Lastly, sustainable tourism planning is explored to ascertain what steps can be taken to alleviate the negative impacts of tourism while continuing its future development. It is the main argument of this research that tourism has the potential to impact local culture such that over-commercialization can be detrimental to future tourism because it diminishes the attractiveness of tourism destinations. It is also argued that residents, given their importance to the cultural appeal of the Vieux Carré, need to be taken into consideration when developing tourism. Finally, within a sustainable tourism model, residential perspectives, cultural issues and tourism development can be taken into consideration within one framework to lessen commercialization, meet residential needs and continue the economic benefits of tourism.