New Orleans & Co. Re-Launches ‘Everyone’s Welcome Here’ Campaign

06/15/2023

Rich Collins,

Rainbow Gay Pride Flag In The Middle Of The French Quarter In New Orleans, Usa. — Getty Images

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans & Company, the city’s official destination sales and marketing organization, is re-launching the 2019 “Everyone’s Welcome Here” campaign and asking local businesses to take a pledge to actively welcome LGBTQ+ visitors and people of all backgrounds and identities to the community. The New Orleans LGBTQ Hospitality Alliance is a partner in the endeavor.

The window sticker campaign also includes an educational component for interested business owners.

“New Orleans has long been known as a place where everyone is welcome to enjoy our incredible culture, but the ‘Everyone’s Welcome Here’ program makes that clear and provides businesses that join the program with educational support to enhance inclusivity in their day to day operations,” said Walter J. Leger, III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, in a press release. “For generations, New Orleans has been celebrated as a welcoming, inclusive destination for all and host to iconic LGBTQ+ events such as Southern Decadence. Our beauty comes not just from our diversity of cultures but also in the blending of those cultures to create something uniquely our own.”

Leger said that New Orleans has a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s MEI Scorecard, which measures inclusivity based on factors such as municipal services and LGBTQ leadership.

“This is not just a temporary campaign during Pride month,” he said. “Inclusion is in our DNA.”

“According to SAP CONCUR, 97 percent of the LGBTQ+ community are worried about their safety and discrimination when traveling,” said Dustin Woehrmann, president and creative director of Communify, a New Orleans strategic marketing agency, and a volunteer leader of the New Orleans LGBTQ Hospitality Alliance. “ We know New Orleans has always been a welcoming city, so our top priority is making sure LGBTQ+ travelers feel safe, respected, supported and free to be themselves. Displaying an ‘Everyone’s Welcome Here’ sticker at your business is doing exactly that.”