Mississippi's Gulf Coast has been designated a no-go zone for tourists following the devastation wreaked last week by Hurricane Katrina, which killed hundreds and left the cities of Biloxi and New Orleans under water.
High temperatures mean it is low season for tourists in Mississippi, and at the time of going to press it was thought there were few British tourists in the area when the hurricane struck. Those there were evacuated via Atlanta airport.
'We had just seven guests in New Orleans. They were moved to LA and Miami just before it hit,' said a spokeswoman for Virgin Holidays.
The disaster comes as the state tourist board was planning a publicity push to persuade British visitors to consider the area. Now officials say it could be up to a year before international visitors return. 'We were trying to promote the coast and its proximity to New Orleans,' said David Nicholson, the UK director of Mississippi Tourism. 'What was an enormously thrilling tourist destination has been wiped out overnight. At the moment the coast is completely and utterly devastated. But if there's anything positive to come out of this, it's that at least now people will know where it is.'
The process of rebuilding may have been easier if it wasn't for an old state law dictating that gambling in Mississippi is only legal when conducted over water. All gambling spaces were constructed as pontoons, over the sea.
'They were supposed to have been built to withstand force five hurricanes but they didn't plan for the fact that they would simply be picked up and dropped by the winds,' said Nicholson.
A 30-foot wave wiped out 90 per cent of buildings on New Orleans's east coast, including a new Hard Rock Casino and Cafe that was due to open next week after two years in construction.
Inland, the rest of Mississippi is operating as normal, but there are so many evacuees from the affected areas that hotels throughout the state are booked solid. It may be months before people can return to the cities and years before they are fully functional again.
Those planning to visit the area are being told to cancel and re-book elsewhere or postpone their holiday. Tour operators have cancelled departures in the short term and are offering alternatives, with a plan to review the situation week by week.
