Tours of Storm Damage

Good evening to all,
sorry it's been quite some time between my postings, just that with the holidays, and classes right around the corner, the rush is on to be ready. Here's a story about something I saw on the news recently.

I hear that sightseeing tours are being offered for the areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina, not just mom & pop operations where locals offer to show the area to tourists, but big commercial touring companies such as Gray Line are offering them as well. Reactions to the tours amongst the locals have been mixed, with some in favor, and some resenting the fact that outsiders are gawking at their misery and plight.

The question is, are the tours a good thing or bad? Is it just enterprising people looking to bring people back to the city, or does it have all the appeal of a car wreck on the side of the road? Is it ghoulish for people to visit New Orleans to take a look at what they've been seeing on television? Though I'm not a local, I don't believe it's necessarily a bad thing, I believe it could actually help New Orleans, not just financially but in making people aware and keeping them talking about the devastation of the city and surrounding area.

We all know that news coverage of the ongoing aftermath has slowed to not much more than a trickle, with new or additional information finding it's way onto the back pages of the newspaper, so I say to the people of New Orleans, please let them come, encourage them to book tours with local residents, tell them about how things really are, give them the truth to tell others back at the watercooler where they work. Those in charge of the rebuild effort will have to do their job if the attention of the people remains upon them, and the important questions continue to be asked.

What do you think about the New Orleans tours?
Ghoulish, or good?