“This is very serious that Mardi Gras is not going to be held,” Dr. Janet Speyrer, Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of New Orleans.
Mardi Gras has been cancelled in the past, but this year's cancellation could very well do irreparable damage to the local economy.
Speyrer says losing this year's celebration could be what pushes a lot of businesses operating on the edge, into insolvency.
“We didn’t just lose Mardi Gras, we lost all of the conventions and conferences and other major events. So this is just one more of those things that we’re going to have to make up for.”
Speyrer believes an economic recovery is coming in October.
But for some businesses it just won't arrive in time.
“It’s very serious that bars are just one of the groups that will be impacted,” Speyrer says. “If you say ‘will it break the camel’s back’ I think it will do that especially for small bars.”
Of all the businesses threatened with closure, Speyrer says, bars, taverns, clubs, and venues are the most endangered by the continuing economic effects of the virus.
“There are some that have said this will be what keeps them from remaining open, even in the long run.”
Speyrer says since most operations make substantial revenue during Mardi Gras, this year’s forced closures could be the knockout punch for a lot of struggling businesses.
“It will perhaps cause some [businesses] to go down at least temporarily, hospitality businesses are most vulnerable and they’ve had this one more hit that could cause them to close doors forever.”
Speyrer says since most of the hospitality businesses rely on the Mardi Gras weeks as other businesses look at Christmas and the after-Christmas period for making money that will propel them through the rest of the year.
Losing this incredibly valuable period of time will likely push many operators beyond the ability to recover and into insolvency and closure.
Speyrer hopes for economic recovery by October, which coincides with a number of festivals coming back, but knows that some locally owned businesses just aren't going to make it.
