Commentary: Mardi Gras yardstick needed to measure season's success

Two years ago, Mayor C. Ray Nagin made the right call in deciding to abandon the traditional measurement of tabulating Mardi Gras success by toting up the tons of trash swept up in New Orleans.

But no other yardstick replaced the tons-of-trash barometer. And one is needed.

When performance is assessed and benchmarked, it's possible to accurately determine areas of strength and weakness.

The Mardi Gras season is the crown tourism jewel of New Orleans. We should trumpet its successes and its unique entertainment opportunities. And we should constantly look for ways to improve it.

Two years ago, city officials claimed everything went great during Carnival 2002. Occupancy rates for 35,000 hotel rooms were reported at 90 percent and arrests were down. Good news considering terrorism threats, a soft economy and sluggish pre-registrations indicated an 80 percent occupancy rate was likely.

But the rest of us knew the cold, rainy weather was dreadful at times, causing one parade cancellation and postponements on three separate occasions. It was the worst overall Carnival weather in 50 years, by some accounts. Crowds appeared sparse as many residents and visitors chose not to brave the elements.

How great is that?

This year, weather again struck repeatedly during festivities and held down crowd size. How much so is unknown because the city has no organized method of assessing the success of its crown tourism jewel.

Mardi Gras is a challenging undertaking most cities the size of New Orleans would never even try to pull off. The fact we are able to do it annually is a source of amazement. By any measure, including crime and occupancy rates, our prosperity is vastly enhanced by our krewes, those lining the parade routes and those visitors who come to view this spectacle.

We know this. But to the rest of the world, including the business prospects we woo and the tourists we charm, hard data is growing increasingly important.

Data from retail sales tax receipts, the Louisiana Restaurant Association, the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association, the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, the New Orleans Police Department and the city administration should be pieced together to accurately assess areas of city performance during Carnival. Including independent verification would enhance credibility of such a report.

It's not that we want to count tons of garbage again. Piles of trash are not the only valid measurements the city can stack up against to determine the success of Mardi Gras and the entire Carnival season.

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