New Orleans, also referred to as Big Easy has a population of about four hundred and sixty nine thousand residents, making it the largest city in the state of Louisiana. The city is situated at the south eastern part of Louisiana in the middle of the Mississippi River and Lake Ponchartrain. New Orleans has the distinction of being one of select cities in the United States that has been under three flags in it's eventful history. The three flags are for; United States, France and Spain. A few demographics on the city are; 67.3% of the population are African American, 28.1% are white, 3.1% are Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% are of Asian origin and 1.3% are American Indian and Alaska. New Orleans is a famous tourists hotspot, every year before the start of Lent, is when one of the worlds biggest carnivals is held in the city. Mardi Gras is it's name and people from all over the world make it a point to be in the city at that particular period of time. Tourism has become one of New Orleans major industries with close to 7 million tourists pouring in every year. The port in New Orleans is world class, regarded as one of the busiest in the world and the largest in the United States. New Orleans economy is driven by the following industries; petrochemical, aerospace, petroleum, shipbuilding, mining, transportation, telecommunications, processing and health care. Here are a few firms that have their headquarters or offices in the city; Lockheed-Martin, ConocoPhillips, BellSouth, IBM, ChevronTexaco, Hibernia Corp, Navtech, BP, and Popeye's Fried Chicken. New Orleans has various attractions, here are a few of them; the Natchez, the French Quarter, Audubon Park, Metairie Cemetery, Audubon Zoo, the Louisiana Superdome, The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), Saint Louis Cemetery and the National D-Day Museum. With the number of tourists visiting the city every year it's hotels and restaurants have been granted world class status. Here are a few hotels; Hilton New Orleans, Inter-Continental Hotel, Radisson Hotel New Orleans, Sheraton New Orleans, Wyndham Riverfront, Fairmont Hotel, Marriott New Orleans, Comfort Suites New Orleans and Le Meridien. The restaurants are; Brennan's, Louis XVI Restaurant Francais, The Veranda Restaurant, Broussard's, Carmelo Ristorante and Galatoire's. New Orleans has two of the four major sports franchises based in the city; New Orleans Saints (National Football League) and the New Orleans Hornets (National Basketball Association). The other teams that ply their trade in the city are; New Orleans VooDoo (Arena Football League) and the New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA minor league baseball).