Touring Katrina: Authentic Identities and Disaster Tourism in New Orleans

Abstract

Following hurricane Katrina in 2005, concern was expressed over the future of the tourism industry in New Orleans. Tourism and residents returned more quickly than predicted by naysayers, yet there was further controversy over certain disaster or Katrina tours that soon began to take place. Questions were raised about the motivation of tour companies and tourists and about the rights of residents whose destroyed homes were main attractions on the tours. Beyond this controversy, the routes and narratives of the tours themselves illuminate lines of division in pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans and the selection of certain sites, like the Convention Center, reflects the pervasive influence of images in the national media. The individual performances of the tour guides and the way in which they utilised unique discourses of authenticity also raise questions about what it means to be a local of New Orleans and how this has changed with the storm. While by 2008 traditional tourism has largely returned to or surpassed pre-Katrina levels, some Katrina tours still operate, pointing to the continued place for disaster tourism in contemporary society. These issues resonate with the themes identity, authenticity, and ownership found in other research on cultural and heritage tourism.