Mayor Nagin departed today for Zhengzhou, China, where he will join Mayors from China and cities worldwide in the International Mayor's Forum on Tourism. The conference is a platform for city leaders to discuss the future of world tourism. Mayor Nagin's trip also will include private meetings with Chinese officials who are working in areas of investment and distribution, and panel discussions on topics of conservation, emergency preparedness and tourism development.
Mayor Nagin was nominated to attend the conference by Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOMCVB). Perry is a member of the Travel Industry Association's, "Chairman's Circle," an elite group of tourism leaders representing the Convention and Visitors Bureau's tourism marketing organizations, hotels, theme parks and other facets of the hospitality industry.
Mayor Nagin will be joined by a small contingent from New Orleans, including Lisa Ponce de Leon, the city's Director of International Relations, and Erin Butler-Mueller, Commercial Officer at the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center. He will return to New Orleans on Sunday, April 13.
