Rhetorical Analysis of "New Orleans Tourism Stronger Than Before"

I found this article online on CNBC website named, "New Orleans Tourism Stronger Than Before",by Steven Perry the President and CEO in New Orleans of the Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau,( http://www.cnbc.com/id/38883168 ) which is based strongly on my major of Tourism. The article is about how much stronger tourism has gotten in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. The author has proved a boost in tourism by providing statistical data for post Katrina experiences. New Orleans visitor experience has improved by fixing up the Superdome, Metropolitan Convention Center, hotels and adding hundreds of new restaurants. Events such as festivals, convention meetings and special events have been on the rise. The number of people whom have traveled to New Orleans from 2006 to 2009 has doubled. One recent concern is that New Orleans has had to deal the gulf oil spill, but like Hurricane Katrina, the city knows how to deal with these kinds of threats to their city and tourism.
The context of the issues the writer seems to be is as a New Orleans native no matter what hurricane and/or disaster comes to the city it will prevail in rebuilding and bringing in tourism. What I know about this topic is that I lived through Hurricane Katrina and lived close to New Orleans. I believe the author chose to write this piece on August 27,2010 to remind people of the 5Th year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and what great strives New Orleans has made since then. If there would be anything at stake for New Orleans it would be to fail to keep growing and bringing in tourism.
Steven Perry is more than knowledge in the Tourism department taking he is the CEO of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Perry is also Chairman of the Board of Destination Marketing Association International, Executive Committee Member of the US Travel Association and Member of the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board which advises the US Secretary of Commerce."(Perry 2010)
The publication of this article is on the CNBC website, which tells me that it is geared toward an audience interested in the national news. The author is reputable because of his job title as the CEO of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, because he has this information at his disposal. The author does not posit a political slant, just makes a statement that New Orleans is a city that will flourish, even in the wake of disaster.
I believe that the call to write is the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans is suffering from the oil spill, which is the second devastating disaster that has hit Louisiana within a few years. The oil spill probably surfaced many feelings of despair from five years prior, with Hurricane Katrina, which prompted the author to write an article proving that New Orleans will rebuild no matter how large of a disaster the city will have to face.
The author's intended purpose is to prove to the public that New Orleans will always remain a city that people will forever be interested in visiting. New Orleans is a city like no other in the world and will always draw tourism. The author provides statistical economic data on how tourism has flourished since Hurricane Katrina, proving that his intended purpose is to prove that no matter what the disaster, New Orleans will remain strong.
The intended audience is not targeted toward one group of people. I believe that the article is intended for anyone who is interested in the economy of New Orleans and how it has bounced back from previous and current disasters. The assumption of the author is that people think Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill have affected the amount of tourism brought to New Orleans, and the author is proving them wrong with statistics showing that tourism has in fact boosted since even before Hurricane Katrina. The author is from New Orleans and has an obvious affection for this great city. The author wants the world to know that New Orleans may have faced some setbacks, but proves with his statistics on the improvement in tourism since Katrina, that even the oil spill will not discourage visitors.
The author uses language in an informative tool. The author does not use any particular slang nor does he write with a scholarly vocabulary. The author's tone is one of an informative nature. He just wishes to portray New Orleans as a thriving city and wants to use data to prove it. The author uses vocabulary that the general public will understand. He wants to inform the public, not to use a large vocabulary that may deter some people from the article. The author is simply writing this article to inform the public of what they may not know. The author uses general language that he assumes most people can understand, intending on having readers from many backgrounds.