The New Orleans Jazz Fest has been canceled.
WWL First News sought commentary from New Orleans and Company’s Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Relations Kelly Schulz after the news of the much anticipated festival’s cancellation due to the runaway outbreak of COVID-19.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy
“To be blunt, this is a giant wakeup call for those who choose to not get vaccinated for COVID-19,” Schulz said. “These sorts of things can cause incredible economic damage to our community and also just a loss of those cultural things that we love about New Orleans.”
Schulz expressed that members of New Orleans and Company are sad and disappointed to hear of the cancellation.
“This is going to be a setback for the tourism industry,” Schulz said. “But our recovery will continue.”
Schulz says there are still many options for leisure tourism, events and business meetings to be held in the fall, in a way done in a safe manner and following safety protocols.
“It is a little bit of setback and we’re certainly disappointed, but we are still going to move forward and drive this recovery.”
“We cannot stress enough the importance of vaccinations and getting those vaccination rates up, are going to be what moves us forward so we can have these events rescheduled for the future and do so in a way that’s keeping everyone safe.”
“This is a wakeup call for what happens when people are not getting vaccinated and these tough decisions have to be made.”
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign up and follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram