With the recent death of ex-Saints player Will Smith, tourists are continuing to question whether or not the city is safe to visit.

In 2015, 10 years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans brought in $6.8 billion from tourism alone, according to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In addition, according to nola.gov, the rate of murder has increased 9.3 percent within the same year.

Mark Romig, CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, said that they have never shied away from admitting that New Orleans has its problems, but they have programs that are fighting it.

Romig thinks those are making
a difference.

“Anytime there’s a high profile incident in the city, it does cause attention to the city. We are always concerned about the stories that emanate out of New Orleans and move around the country. We monitor; when we see things that are being incorrectly said about the city, rest assured we’re not going to sit idly back and take it,” Romig said. “It’s important that citizens know when they come here, their safety is our first priority.”

Juniad, a tourist from Shreveport visiting New Orleans for a conference, said he had mixed feelings about coming to the city and
his safety.

“People tell us that if we visit New Orleans, you better watch yourself, not walk alone, you should have someone by your side,” Juniad said. “We kind of keep ourselves in safe zones – where there are people around walking. We don’t go to dark places.”

However, for local tour guides, the crime in the city does not seem to be a concern.

Jamie Landry said that he doesn’t think New Orleans is any more dangerous than other popular cities in the country.

“Tourists do ask about the crime in New Orleans; they read about it in the papers,” Landry said. “New Orleans has its problems just like any other city as far as crime goes but I don’t think it’s any worse or any better than any other place in the United States. Crime is a big problem in the United States and crime is unfortunately everywhere we are but as far as New Orleans I honestly don’t think it’s any better or any worse than any place in the
United States.”

Jennifer Jones, a licensed tour guide and a familiar face in New Orleans, otherwise known as “The Dance Lady,” said crime won’t stop people from having fun in the
Big Easy.

“I don’t think the violence will affect it overall because tourism is our battle cry. But we can’t just shut it up for tourism and the sake of the dollar because people are suffering,” Jones said.

Jones said she gets questions daily regarding safety in the city, but if tourists ask out of fear, then they wouldn’t come to New Orleans in the first place.

“People love coming here and we have the goods and the ambiance and we have it,” Jones said.