New record-setting high point for New Orleans tourism since pandemic
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of New Orleans is reporting a major tourism milestone.
Officials with New Orleans and Company announced that in 2024, visitation in the city exceeded the 19 million mark for only the second time in history.
A study conducted by New Orleans and Company revealed, the city welcomed 19.08 million visitors in 2024, a 6.4% increase from 2023s 17.93 million visitors and close to the 19.75 million point from 2019.
Additionally, the visitors spent $10.4 billion which is an 8.4% increase from 2023's $9.6 billion and 2019's high of $10.045 billion.
Pikachu, 10,000 fans land in New Orleans
Hotel bookings also increased by 6.4%.
I consider 2024 a defining year in our mission to inspire, promote and encourage travel to our city. This kind of growth doesn't happen without implementing successful strategies across multiple sectors of visitors simultaneously, especially in such a competitive environment. It is a direct result of the diligent planning and innovative strategies in sales and marketing employed by the team at New Orleans & Company and our strategic partners throughout the community. Our ongoing efforts to ensure that New Orleans remains the most remarkable, unique and welcoming city in the world are creating a positive impact at the local and state level. As visitor spending helps businesses and their employees thrive, they re-invest in our community and strengthen our economy. And when New Orleans' travel industry thrives, so does the state of Louisiana.
Walt Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company.
More than 80,000 people in the city are employees of the tourism and hospitality industry. The tax revenue paid by visitors allows 'tens of millions of dollars' to be spent on education, infrastructure and public safety for communities.
The October 2024 three-night Taylor Swift Era's Tour is credited with bringing more than 150,000 visitors, bringing a 'record-setting' 32,134 passengers to the Louis Armstrong International Airport, selling out hotels, generating at least $200 million and had an economical impact of $500 million.
Celebrating Friday the 13th New Orleans style
Other events credited for the spike include:
International WorkBoat Show
The Pokémon North America International Championships
Over 1,000 conventions, meetings and leisure groups
The 30th Anniversary of Essence Festival of Culture
Additionally, New Orleans has been ranked third in the nation as a top convention destination.
'New Orleans is a city built on hospitality, the industry that forms the foundation of our economy and fuels our quality of life. And that is what inspires our work at New Orleans & Company. Halfway into 2025, we are actively building on that positive momentum as we work every day to drive leisure and business travel to our city, for the benefit of the people who call it home,' said Leger.New Orleans police celebrate new K-9 unit facility
Star Equipment
New record-setting high point for New Orleans tourism since pandemic
Friday storms to bring chance for severe weather
Karen Read murder retrial: Attorneys give closing arguments
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
23 minutes ago
- Business Wire
Stem, Inc. Significantly Strengthens Balance Sheet Through Convertible Notes Exchange and New Notes Issuance
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM) (the 'Company'), a global leader in AI-enabled clean energy software and services, today announced that it completed a privately negotiated exchange (the 'Exchange Agreement') with certain holders of the Company's outstanding 0.500% convertible senior notes due 2028 and 4.250% convertible senior notes due 2030 (the 'Existing Notes').The transaction resulted in a reduction in outstanding debt of approximately $195 million. We believe we have enabled Stem to accelerate its growth and build on the momentum and confidence that our new leadership team has created with customers. Share 'This transaction is an important first step in the transformation of our balance sheet and helps create the flexibility we need to advance our software-focused strategy and create value for shareholders,' said Arun Narayanan, Chief Executive Officer of Stem. 'By reducing our debt by nearly $200 million and raising $10 million of cash, we have positioned Stem to accelerate its growth and build on the momentum and confidence that our new leadership team has created with customers, employees and shareholders,' added Mr. Narayanan. 'This transaction delivers a unique mix of benefits for Stem,' said Doran Hole, Chief Financial Officer of Stem. Mr. Hole continued, 'In addition to significantly reducing our near-term liabilities, it creates a runway by extending the maturity date to 2030 for the majority of our outstanding debt and provides the option to PIK interest payments, giving us the ability to manage liquidity while continuing to invest in the business. This transaction also builds on our momentum and reinforces our ability to execute on our strategic plan.' Transaction Details Under the terms of the Exchange Agreement, the Company will: Acquire approximately $350 million of aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes including approximately $229 million of its Convertible Notes due 2028 (77% of total principal amount outstanding) and approximately $121 million of its Convertible Notes 2030 Notes (51% of total principal amount outstanding); Issue $155 million aggregate principal amount of new first lien senior secured notes (the 'New Notes') and warrants to purchase 439,919 shares of the Company's common stock at a strike price of $30.00 per share (post-split) until December 1, 2030; and Receive $10 million in cash. The New Notes will: Be senior secured obligations of the Company and be guaranteed by certain of the Company's material subsidiaries; Accrue interest at a rate of 11.000% annually, payable in cash or, at the Company's option, in-kind at a rate of 12.000%, subject to a $160 million first lien cap; and Mature on December 1, 2030 As a result of the exchange transactions, the Company's balance sheet will reflect: Approximately $68 million of its existing Convertible Notes due December 2028; Approximately $119 million of its existing Convertible Notes due April 2030; and Approximately $155 million of its newly issued Senior Secured Notes due December 2030 Jefferies LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and placement agent to the Company in connection with the transaction, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to the Company. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements This press release, as well as other statements we make, contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which include any statements that are not historical facts. Such statements often contain words such as "expect," "may," "can," "believe," "predict," "plan," "potential," "projected," "projections," "forecast," "estimate," "intend," "anticipate," "ambition," "goal," "target," "think," "should," "could," "would," "will," "hope," "see," "likely," and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as statements about future business growth, the ability to manage liquidity, and the ability to continue execution of the Company's strategic plan. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including changes as a result of market conditions and the risk that the Offering will not be consummated. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Stem and its management, depend upon inherently uncertain factors and risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including the additional risks and uncertainties set forth in Stem's most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the SEC. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of any such development changes), or should our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and Stem disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Stem Stem (NYSE: STEM) is a global leader in AI-enabled software and services that enable its customers to plan, deploy, and operate clean energy assets. The company offers a complete set of solutions that transform how solar and energy storage projects are developed, built, and operated, including an integrated suite of software and edge products, and full lifecycle services from a team of leading experts. More than 16,000 global customers rely on Stem to maximize the value of their clean energy projects and portfolios. Learn more at Source: Stem, Inc.
Associated Press
32 minutes ago
- Associated Press
BitMine Immersion Technologies Announces $250 Million Private Placement to Initiate Ethereum Treasury Strategy; Expected to Become One of the Largest Publicly Traded ETH Holders
Thomas (Tom) Lee, the Founder of Fundstrat and CIO of Fundstrat Capital, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors effective today. The transaction was led by MOZAYYX with participation from Founders Fund, Pantera, FalconX, Republic Digital, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, DCG, Diametric Capital, Occam Crest Management, and Thomas Lee. Upon the closing of the Private Placement, BitMine will advance its treasury strategy on Ethereum. BitMine Immersion continues to enhance its asset-light and mining business by increasing its existing treasury holdings by over 16x. LAS VEGAS, June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- (NYSE AMERICAN: BMNR) ('BitMine' or the 'Company') today announced the pricing and signing of a private placement for the purchase and sale of 55,555,556 shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents in lieu thereof) at a price of $4.50 per share for expected aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $250 million before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses (funded in a combination of cash and cryptocurrencies) to implement an Ethereum treasury strategy. The transaction was led by MOZAYYX with participation from a high quality group of investors including Founders Fund, Pantera, FalconX, Republic Digital, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, DCG, Diametric Capital, Occam Crest Management, and Thomas Lee. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about July 3, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including without limitation, the authorization of the Supplemental Listing Application by the NYSE American. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to acquire the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum blockchain commonly referred to as 'ETH' and contribute the ETH to the Company's treasury operations. ETH will serve as the Company's primary treasury reserve asset. Thomas Lee, newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, 'This transaction includes the highest quality investors across trad-fi and crypto venture capital, properly reflecting the rapid and continued convergence of traditional financial services and crypto.' Proceeds from the private placement enable the Company to adopt Ethereum (ETH) as its primary treasury reserve asset, while continuing its focus on the core business operations. ETH is the native layer of the Ethereum blockchain. A differentiating feature of Ethereum is the enabling of smart contracts and the majority of stablecoin payments, tokenized assets, and decentralized financial applications are transacted on Ethereum. By having a direct ETH treasury position, the Company has access to native protocol-level activities, such as staking and decentralized finance mechanisms, on the Ethereum network. Thomas Lee, Chairman of BitMine, states, 'Stablecoins have proven to be the 'chatGPT' of crypto, leading to rapid adoption by consumers, merchants and financial services providers. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, recently stated the stablecoin market could reasonably reach $2 trillion (Bloomberg) compared to the current $250 billion (per Ethereum is the blockchain where the majority of stablecoin payments are transacted (according to and thus, ETH should benefit from this growth. One of the key performance metrics (KPI) for BitMine going forward is to increase the value of ETH held per share. This can be achieved by a combination of reinvestment of the Company's cash flows, capital markets activities, and by the change in value of ETH Jonathan Bates, CEO of BitMine, said, 'The private placement will accelerate BitMine's treasury holdings shortly after its first treasury purchase on June 9, 2025. FalconX, Kraken, and Galaxy Digital plan to partner with the Company to grow a world class Ethereum treasury strategy alongside existing custody partners, BitGo and Fidelity Digital.' ThinkEquity, LLC acted as the placement agent in connection with the private placement. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as advisor to the lead investor, MOZAYYX. Winston & Strawn LLP acted as counsel to the lead investor, MOZAYYX. FitzGerald Kreditor Bolduc Risbrough LLP acted as counsel to the Company. Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted as counsel to the placement agent. The offer and sale of the foregoing securities were made in a private placement in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirement of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder, and applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities offered in the private placement may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws. Concurrently with the execution of the securities purchase agreements, the Company and the investors entered into a registration rights agreement pursuant to which the Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') registering the resale of the shares of common stock to be issued or issuable in connection with the offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. About BitMine BitMine is a Bitcoin and Ethereum Network Company with a focus on the accumulation of Crypto for long term investment, whether acquired by our Bitcoin mining operations or from the proceeds of capital raising transactions. Company business lines include Bitcoin mining, synthetic Bitcoin mining through involvement in Bitcoin mining, hashrate as a financial product, offering advisory and mining services to companies interested in earning Bitcoin denominated revenues, and general Bitcoin advisory to public companies. BitMine's operations are located in low-cost energy regions in Trinidad; Pecos, Texas; and Silverton, Texas. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute 'forward-looking statements.' The statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. This document specifically contains forward-looking statements regarding the potential benefits of the uses of proceeds of the Company's recent offering and future business plans. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including BitMine's ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; BitMine's ability to finance its current business and proposed future business; the competitive environment of BitMine's business; and the future value of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Actual future performance outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond BitMine's control, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of BitMine's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on April 3, 2025, as well as all other SEC filings, as amended or updated from time to time. Copies of BitMine's filings with the SEC are available on the SEC's website at . BitMine undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE BitMine Immersion Technologies, Inc.
Forbes
33 minutes ago
- Forbes
Avolta Grows Retail Footprint As Per-Head Spending Lags Traffic Growth
Xavier Rossinyol: 'We are convinced that a high level of geographical diversification is key ... More for the resilience of the group.' A presentation from the world's biggest travel retailer, Avolta, has highlighted a negative trend in the global travel retail market: growth in spend per passenger (SPP) is not keeping up with the number of travelers taking to the skies—with duty-free store owners and their airport landlords still not doing enough to reverse the trend. Avolta—whose revenue hit 13.5 billion Swiss francs ($15.3 billion), up by 6.4% last year—held a Capital Markets Day on Thursday in Barcelona for the first time in three years. The company, whose brands include Autogrill, HMSHost, and Hudson, shared that while like-for-like growth between 2023 and 2025 was 4-5%, SPP only rose by 2-3%. Particularly hard hit have been product categories such as alcohol and watches/jewelry, both currently in negative territory. From 2022, a Covid-19 bounce-back year when SPP jumped by 17%, it fell to 5% in 2023, and 3.2% last year. The first quarter of 2025 was stable, but not great, at 3%. This compares to airline association IATA data showing passenger growth rates over those same three years as 64%, 37%, and 10% respectively, where 2024 was 3.8% above pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Airports are where Avolta derives more than 80% of its revenue. Key nationalities impacting global SPP Part of the negative impact of lower SPP growth has come from fewer high-spending Russian and Chinese passengers traveling globally due to sanctions and post-Covid caution, respectively. Duty-free retailers reliant on these nationalities have seen their SPPs decreasing, Importantly, about one-third (34.4% currently) of Avolta's like-for-like growth comes from SPP, and two-thirds from passenger growth. It therefore makes more sense to expand into new travel locations which is exactly what has been happening in recent years: for example, in the United States at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and elsewhere. At the presentation, Xavier Rossinyol, CEO of Avolta, said: 'We are at the mid-point of the strategic plan, Destination 2027, that we presented to the equity markets in September 2022. We are convinced that a high level of geographical diversification is key to the resilience of the group. We are growing with new concessions and new countries in every one of our four regions.' Between 2022 and 2024, Avolta also secured contract renewals at a high rate of 95%. Airport landlords' concerns are not necessarily the same as retailers but Avolta's scale and data sharing approach is yielding results in the way it has managed to retain business with relative ease. Airport operators are also hyper-focused on their customer experience ratings, and retail is one of the most visible and tangible aspects of this for a passenger. Avolta makes headway in Denmark The latest win for Avolta has been in Denmark, where it has just been awarded a five-year food and beverage (F&B) contract in Copenhagen Airport's Terminal 3 expansion covering five new units. The retailer has been at the airport—which processed 30 million passengers last year, still marginally below 2019—for nearly 20 years and currently operates five units including Copenhagen Coffee Lab, Neighbourhood Pizza, and Burger King. Avolta has added new retail space at Copenhagen Airport's T3 extension. Switzerland-based Avolta is an industry bellwether. By revenue, the company was almost double the size of its nearest rival last year and it is also one of just two (the other being Lagardère Travel Retail (LTR), which is now in a leadership transition phase), that operates across the main travel spheres: airport, trains, cruises/ports, downtown, and highways. The company left out borders, also a key channel, in its assessment. The next nearest travel retailer is China's CTG Duty Free Group which has seen declining revenue in recent years. In 2024, sales fell to 56.5 billion Chinese Yuan, or about $7.9 billion in 2024 (based on last year's average FX rate). France's LTR ranks third at $6.1 billion, but grew faster than its Swiss rival last year. Avolta has managed to strengthen its balance sheet and cut costs to build better foundations for its future. Yves Gerster, CFO of Avolta, noted: 'Avolta has a compelling equity story that combines resilience, growth, and long-term value creation.' However, as before Covid, the company is likely over-reliant on growth in global passenger traffic—another pandemic would be devastating for it and a still fragmented global industry. The Role of Data and Loyalty in Driving SPP The Gen Y and Gen Z cohorts are now in the majority, and growing. Spend per passenger, despite being another big growth driver, seems less of a priority versus new locations—something every big travel retailer is also looking at—despite the brag from Avolta that SPP 'is increasing thanks to the company's sharpened commercial focus.' But when it is growing at only half the rate of traffic growth this is not a win, even if competitors may not be doing as well. Naturally, the drive to add more market share is enticing, and Rossinyol is lured by a huge untapped traveler market and the buoyant future forecasts for passengers. For example, airports association ACI says numbers will exceed 12 billion in 2030, up from 9.5 billion last year. To his credit, Rossinyol is now heavily pushing the data side of the business and has revamped the loyalty scheme Club Avolta for this purpose and to drive SPP. As the largest duty-free retailer 'we have the possibility to access more data than anybody in the industry.' He added: 'Are we doing everything we should be doing? No,' he admitted. 'We are still at an early stage… but we are much better placed today than three years ago.' With Gen Y and Gen Z accounting for more than 60% of travelers, comparing prices is very much the norm because a good price still remains a top priority for them, and other travelers, at airports according to Avolta's data. So SPP will continue to fall if duty-free operators don't address this and/or can't meaningfully engage with them on other levels such as local sourcing, product heritage and authenticity, as well as value. At the meeting, Avolta reaffirmed its medium-term outlook of organic growth at between 5% and 7%, with core Ebitda margin improvements of 20-40bps. More stories and information about Avolta can be found by following this link.
