Package tour companies return to New Orleans

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Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

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Four tour operators are returning to New Orleans with vacation packages. The New York Times (free registration required) reported that Collette Vacations, Globus, Cosmos, and Trafalgar are all offering upcoming tours. In some cases, tours include volunteer opportunities, and profits from Collette Vacations’ five-day tours go toward Hurricane Katrina relief.

This reflects the trend toward travel back to the Crescent City that’s been gathering speed since Mardi Gras. Tourism dollars are an important part of rebuilding, and travel to the area is a way of letting people see what’s going on and get involved if they wish.

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