Tauck Returns To New Orleans With Enhanced Itinerary Featuring Guest Volunteerism Opportunity

 

NORWALK, CT (February 28, 2006)  Tauck World Discovery will resume its tours visiting New Orleans and the surrounding region beginning in May, the company has announced.  Tauck is relaunching its Louisiana/Mississippi tour with an enhanced itinerary, an optional half-day guest volunteerism opportunity in New Orleans, and a new name – “Southern Charm Along The Mississippi.”

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be returning to New Orleans and the region,” said Tauck President/CEO Robin Tauck.  “We’ve been bringing guests to the area since 1964, and many of our suppliers there have become cherished friends over the years, so it feels great to be bringing our guests and our business back.”  Over the past 42 years, Tauck estimates, the company has taken well over 50,000 travelers to the region.

 

Tauck is celebrating its return with an enhanced and expanded eight-day itinerary that now includes additional sightseeing in New Orleans, and two nights in Memphis where guests will visit sites including Elvis Presley’s legendary Graceland home, the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul museum and the Center For Southern Folklore.  “Memphis is the perfect complement to New Orleans,” said Tauck, “because it adds the wonderful cultural history of the blues as a counterpoint to the jazz heritage of New Orleans.” 

 

“Southern Charm Along The Mississippi” (from $2,190 double, plus air) explores multiple facets of southern charm and culture besides its musical traditions, visiting antebellum mansions in Natchez, exploring the Civil War battlefield at Vicksburg and sampling Cajun history and hospitality in the bayous outside of New Orleans, before journeying on to the Big Easy for the trip’s final two nights.

 

“It’s truly a fascinating itinerary in a fascinating region,” said Tauck, “and I know our guests will love it.  At the same time, they’ll have the added reward of knowing they’re supporting the region’s resurgence and its crucial tourism industry.”  Although the sites on Tauck’s itinerary – including New Orleans’ French Quarter – essentially escaped the physical destruction of Hurricane Katrina, they have nonetheless suffered from the subsequent sharp drop-off in tourism. 

 

Guests interested in providing a more “hands-on” contribution to the area’s recovery will have the option of volunteering an afternoon to work on a rehabilitation/beautification project during their time in New Orleans.  The volunteerism project is currently being finalized, and the guest participation will be coordinated and entirely funded by Tauck.  The company operates a similar guest-volunteer program in Yellowstone National Park, and was recently honored by the U.S. Department of the Interior for its efforts there.  Tauck has been active in other Gulf Coast relief efforts as well, raising over $25,000 through company-matched employee contributions and other efforts. 

 

Tauck is offering its initial departure of “Southern Charm Along The Mississippi” on May 14^th, with a total of five additional departures scheduled for September and October.  Each trip will be led by Mark Cierebiej, a 25-year Tauck veteran and “adopted son of New Orleans” with decades of experience showcasing the region to Tauck’s guests.

 

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