I don’t think New Orleans will be rebuilt.
The reason many people expect the city to be rebuilt is that Bourbon Street survived and there is a substantial tourist industry to bring back.
I don’t think tourism is a viable industry...
I don’t think tourism is a viable industry, certainly not viable enough
to support a real city. One example is found in San Francisco. The
nine million tourists every year generate less revenue that one
headquarters company such as Pacific Gas & Electric. Three billion versus nine billion dollars per year. One Fortune
500 company versus nine million tourists? Take the company if you have
a choice.
The second example is that there are no large companies built on tourism. None. Hotels definitely do not depend on tourism, they depend on business travelers. None of the major hotel chains were built on a tourist base.*
The third example is the killer piece of evidence. Maui and Kauai are
both pure tourist destinations and neither could be considered
prosperous, interesting or vital. There are no real cities on either
island.
Tourism is highly volatile, it fluctuates depending on fuel costs, safety concerns, economic vigor and currency fluctuations. Any one can damage tourism.
Basing a city on tourism is a bad idea.
*I'm excluding the Disneylands and Las Vegas. Disneylands don't create cities, they are travel packages good for a short time.) Las Vegas was a unique sin zone, that grew because of its large concentration of sin, and then learned how to capitalize on sin.