Visit New Orleans

What Visit New Orleans does

Visit New Orleans is the consumer-facing booking platform and brand for Gray Line New Orleans and the New Orleans Steamboat Company, operating a diversified portfolio of guided tours and cruise experiences in the New Orleans, Louisiana market. The company serves domestic and international leisure tourists across four core verticals: riverboat cruises aboard the Steamboat NATCHEZ (the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River) and the Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS; swamp tours through the Barataria Basin and Manchac Swamp; plantation tours to Oak Alley and Whitney Plantations; and city, ghost, and cocktail walking tours covering the French Quarter and Garden District. The platform also operates seasonal holiday tours (Christmas Eve bonfire celebrations at Destrehan Plantation, Cajun holiday dinners) and bundles such as the Good Times Pass, the NOLA-in-a-Day package, and the River Cruise & Aquarium combo with the Audubon Aquarium & Insectarium.

The technology stack is operationally thin: all bookings are powered by embedded FareHarbor reservation widgets providing real-time availability, calendar management, and electronic ticket delivery. The website uses Google Maps for mapping and Google reCAPTCHA for spam prevention. One proprietary technology asset exists: augmented reality software for the Ghosts & Spirits Walking Tour, developed by local artist Marcus Brown, which overlays Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau and the Great Fire of 1788 scenes onto the real environment via iPhone/iPad. Operations are anchored at the Gray Line Lighthouse ticket office (400 Toulouse Street, behind JAX Brewery) with a secondary swamp-tour base at 5145 Fleming Road, Lafitte.

The business model is B2C per-booking ticketing with tiered pricing ranging from $25.75 (75-minute riverboat) to $137.50 (Steamboat NATCHEZ Evening Jazz Party Package), plus ancillary revenue from onboard/onsite alcohol sales and buffet upgrades (Party Package). Distribution occurs through direct website booking, in-person ticket office, phone/group sales, Groupon deal marketplace, the Audubon Aquarium partnership, and concierge/travel advisor referrals. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent-company ownership stake beyond the affiliated Gray Line / New Orleans Steamboat Company operating relationship, and an employee count of 6 (likely the corporate/booking team rather than on-tour guides or boat crews).

Name

Visit New Orleans

Legal name

Visit New Orleans

Website

https://visitneworleans.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Visit New Orleans is the booking platform for Gray Line New Orleans and the New Orleans Steamboat Company, operating riverboat cruises, swamp tours, plantation tours, and city/ghost/cocktail walking tours for domestic and international tourists visiting New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tour Operator Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Inland Water Passenger Transportation (483212), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Theme & Specialty River Cruises (Culinary/Wellness/Music/etc.) (THAEACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

River Cruise + Land Tour Packages (Cruisetours) (THAEACAK), River Cruise Booking & Distribution (Direct/Agents/OTAs) (THAEACAF), Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching) (THAJAJAA), Tourist & Sightseeing Cruise Operators (Day Cruises) (TLAFALAF)

Keywords

• Guided tours
• Riverboat cruises
• Plantation tours
• Swamp tours
• Tourism experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tour and Cruise Ticket Sales: One-time ticket purchases for individual tours and experiences across riverboat cruises, swamp tours, plantation tours, city tours, ghost tours, cocktail tours, cooking classes, and holiday tours. Revenue generated per booking with no disclosed subscription component.
2. Bundled Pass (Good Times Pass): Multi-experience bundled pass offering combined access to multiple New Orleans experiences at a discounted package price, generating upfront revenue from consolidated bookings.
3. Onboard and Onsite Sales: Revenue from onboard alcoholic beverage sales, snack bar sales, and optional upgrades such as the Party Package ( Creole meal buffets, reserved seating, alcoholic beverage packages, and sweet treats) on riverboat cruises.
4. Third-Party Distribution (Groupon): Sales through Groupon deal platform, generating revenue from discounted voucher redemptions with Groupon taking a commission share.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Visit New Orleans sells and operates guided sightseeing tours and cruise experiences in the New Orleans area, including Mississippi River steamboat cruises aboard the Steamboat NATCHEZ and Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS, swamp airboat and pontoon tours in the Barataria Basin, motor-coach tours to historic Oak Alley and Whitney Plantations, French Quarter city, ghost, and cocktail walking tours, New Orleans School of Cooking classes, and seasonal holiday bonfire experiences. Tours are sold per-ticket with age-tiered pricing and packaged as combo bundles, with bookings fulfilled through the embedded FareHarbor reservation platform.

Product overview

Visit New Orleans is a Gray Line & New Orleans Steamboat Company brand that operates a diversified portfolio of guided tours and cruise experiences in the New Orleans area. The core offering spans four tour verticals — Riverboat Cruises (aboard the Steamboat NATCHEZ and Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS), City/Ghost/Cocktail Tours, Swamp Tours, and Plantation Tours — supplemented by seasonal Holiday Tours. Individual products include branded cruise variants (jazz lunch, brunch, and dinner cruises; 75-minute sightseeing cruises), combination packages (swamp + plantation, riverboat + aquarium), specialty walking tours (cooking class + cocktail tour, craft cocktail tour, ghosts & spirits tour with augmented reality), and the Good Times Pass multi-experience bundle. All bookings are handled through FareHarbor, and tours depart from the Gray Line Lighthouse at 400 Toulouse Street.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gray Line New Orleans: Associated tour operator brand for New Orleans tours and transportation services
• New Orleans Steamboat Company

Products and services

• Riverboat Cruises

Quantifiable outcome

• New Orleans hosts over 130 festivals per year, with Visit New Orleans serving as the primary booking partner for visitors attending major events

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FareHarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationFareHarbor provides the embedded booking engine powering all online ticket sales, calendar management, and reservation handling across the Visit New Orleans website. All tours and cruises link to FareHarbor calendar/booking widgets for real-time availability and electronic ticket delivery.
• Audubon Aquarium & InsectariumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint combo ticket offering (75-Minute River Cruise & Aquarium Package) bundles Mississippi River cruise aboard Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS with admission to the Audubon Aquarium & Insectarium. Aquarium admission must be redeemed within 48 hours of the cruise reservation.
• Gray Line New Orleans (Parent Brand)coreOthersGray Line New Orleans is the parent/tour operating brand behind Visit New Orleans. The Gray Line Lighthouse (400 Toulouse St) serves as the primary departure point. Gray Line provides narrated motor coach transportation for plantation, swamp, and city tours, and owns/operates the Steamboat NATCHEZ and Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS.
• New Orleans Steamboat CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationOperates the Steamboat NATCHEZ (last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River) and Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS. All riverboat cruise products are operated under this entity, with tickets sold through the Visit New Orleans / Gray Line platform.
• New Orleans School of CookingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the New Orleans Cooking Class and Cocktail Walking Tour. The school provides a professional chef-led cooking demonstration (jambalaya, gumbo, pralines), General Store shopping, and spice packet. The tour pairs the cooking class with a guided cocktail walking tour departing from the school.
• Court of Two SistersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner venue on the Craft Cocktail Walking Tour. Tour guests access the carriageway bar of this world-famous French Quarter restaurant through wrought iron Charm Gates, blending cocktail history with the venue's 130-year-old wisteria vine-covered courtyard.
• Fritzel's European Jazz PubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured endpoint venue on both the standard and upgraded Craft Cocktail Walking Tour. Tour concludes with live jazz at this historic French Quarter pub, drawing jazz aficionados from around the world. Tour guests receive admission and can stay for the show.
• GrouponminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party deal marketplace for discounted tour Redemptions. Groupon drives volume sales to price-sensitive tourists through daily deals and promotional pricing on selected Visit New Orleans tour products.
• Premium ParkingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOn-site parking partner referenced for riverboat cruise guests. Premium Parking provides self-service parking at the riverboat dock area for guests arriving by car, with parking not included in tour ticket prices.
• Oak Alley PlantationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey destination partner for Oak Alley Plantation Tour and combined Swamp & Oak Alley Plantation Tour. Gray Line provides narrated motor coach transportation and guides. Oak Alley Foundation provides site access, guided Big House tours, self-guided grounds, Sugarcane Theater, and Slavery at Oak Alley exhibit.
• Whitney PlantationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey destination partner for Whitney Plantation Tour and combined Swamp & Whitney Plantation Tour. The plantation (est. 1752, open since 2014) provides the only Louisiana museum dedicated to the history of slavery, with a self-paced audio tour via the Whitney Plantation app.
• Destrehan PlantationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDestination partner for Cajun Holiday Bonfire Celebration and Christmas Eve Bonfire Adventure/Express tours. Provides guided Big House tour, Spirit of Christmas Light Exhibit, and private bonfire viewing site on the Mississippi River levee for exclusive Gray Line holiday events.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ghost City Tours: Multi-city ghost tour operator with a New Orleans presence, directly competing with the Ghosts & Spirits Walking Tour on themed nighttime experiences.
• Airboat Adventures: Direct competitor offering airboat swamp tours in the same Louisiana wetlands market, competing with the Small and Large Airboat Swamp Adventure products.
• Gray Line Worldwide: Parent franchise network of sightseeing tour operators. Visit New Orleans is the Gray Line New Orleans affiliate, operating the same tour-operator model (city tours, cruise add-ons, day excursions) under shared branding and distribution.
• Cajun Encounters Tour Company: Direct swamp and bayou tour competitor operating from the same Louisiana wetlands, offering pontoon and small-group experiences that overlap with Visit New Orleans' swamp tour portfolio.
• Big Easy Tours: Local New Orleans sightseeing tour operator offering city, swamp, and plantation tours with overlapping bus-tour and excursion formats.
• New Orleans School of Cooking: Partner and peer offering New Orleans cooking demonstrations and culinary experiences — directly comparable to Visit New Orleans' cooking class and cocktail tour product line.
• French Quarter Phantoms: Direct competitor in New Orleans ghost and cemetery walking tours, including the highly rated 'Voodoo, Vampires & French Quarter Ghosts' tour, competing directly with the Ghosts & Spirits Walking Tour.
• Historic New Orleans Tours (HNOT): Direct competitor offering guided city tours, plantation tours, and swamp tours in the New Orleans market with overlapping products (city bus tours, plantation day trips).

Broad incumbents

• Viator (Tripadvisor Experiences): Global online tour marketplace distributing New Orleans tours (including Visit New Orleans products) and competing indirectly with the company's direct FareHarbor booking channel.
• GetYourGuide: Global tour and activity marketplace where Visit New Orleans products are also listed, competing for direct booking share alongside the company's owned channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visit-new-orleans

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit New Orleans