Four months after Hurricane Katrina, motorcoach operators that counted on the Gulf Coast for a significant piece of their business are still struggling to recover from the abrupt loss of that market.

A number of operators appear to have been hit so hard they have been forced out of business or suspended operations.

Bus & Motorcoach News called every private bus operator in Louisiana and Mississippi, and at least 14 have disconnected phones, their phones just ring and are never answered, or the companies told us they were in limbo or shutdown.

Operators in other states that did a significant amount of business along the Gulf Coast have attempted to redirect -- or entice -- their customers to try other destinations, ranging from the upper Midwest to Mexico.

Coach companies that formerly took customers to cruise ships operating out of the Port of New Orleans have switched to the port at Galveston, Texas, or Houston.

Others that made regular runs to the gambling halls on the Mississippi coast have attempted to get their customers to try inland casinos.

Perhaps typical of post-Katrina-era operators -- whose book of business was heavily weighted with Gulf Coast runs -- is Herron Copeland, general manager of Copeland Charters, who is singing the blues in Memphis. He used to make weekly trips to New Orleans and Gulf Coast casinos.

"Its rough," said the Memphis operator, who has downsized from four coaches to three. "And with the higher fuel costs, its tough on everybody in this region. We lost 50 percent of our business."

Heres just one small example of what Copeland has been coping with: For 20-plus years his company has been taking fans to the State Farm Bayou Classic, an annual post-Thanksgiving football game between Grambling State and Southern universities played in New Orleans Super Dome. Not in 2005.

The most-recent Bayou Classic was moved to Houston, which would have changed the trip from a down-and-back-in-one-day excursion, to a move requiring an overnight stay.

"We also did a lot of trips to the casinos but theres nothing down
there," says Copeland. "We dont know when well get back there. But it wont be the same in Gulfport and Biloxi. I dont know whats going to happen."

Bottom line for Copeland: "Were struggling; we take what we can get," he says, mentioning high school and college charters.

Before the August and September hurricanes, Genesis Travel Zone of Houston, formerly Pioneer Bus Line, made fairly regular runs to New Orleans, but didnt patronize the Gulf Coast casinos. "The (Mississippi) casinos were less fair to motorcoach
operators," explains co-owner Sherry Stewart. "They were slow to pay, so we were not playing that game anymore."

Stewart says her company was making two to three trips to New Orleans a
month. "It hit us pretty hard," she says. "Theres not much to go to now."

On the other hand, Genesis is serving more cruise ships out of Houston and
Galveston than in the past. And the company has stepped up its marketing to Wisconsin, upstate New York and Canada. "We do a lot of business in Canada," she says. The company is also concentrating on trips to Mexico.

Another Texas operator that is promoting travel to Mexico is OK Tours of San Antonio. "Were pushing more for trips to Mexico, to Monterrey and San Miguel de
Allende, which is a popular destination," said OK Tours travel consultant Rita Summers says.

The central Mexico city of San Miguel de Allende is one of country's top-rated destinations, with moderate year-round weather, cobblestone streets and colonial architecture, Mexican folk traditions, fiestas, and religious celebrations.

Even operators like Arrow Coach Lines in Little Rock, Ark., which didnt have a big stake in the Gulf Coast market, have been impacted. "We were more affected by the loss of business to the casinos in Biloxi than to New Orleans," said company President Jim Lienhart. Instead of going to Biloxi, gamblers are opting for casinos in Tunica, Miss. Its about the same distance as Biloxi is from Little Rock, but theres more to do in Biloxi, he notes.

After the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City, some travel groups wanted to see Ground Zero and view the aftermath of the disaster. A number of coach operators told Bus & Motorcoach News that there hasnt been much or any demand to see the destruction caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

No one, said Stewart of Genesis Travel Zone, wants to see the devastation of New Orleans.

"Nobody wants to go to New Orleans," echoes Summers of OK Tours.

Adds Stewart: "Theres nowhere anyone wants to visit from New Orleans to Houston. Some small towns were totally destroyed."

However, one operator thinks theres business potential in touring the devastated areas. Gray Line New Orleans announced last month it will offer Katrina bus tours that take travelers through sseveral of the citys hardest hit areas. The announcement created a local stir.

Some city residents said the company is exploiting a tragedy, with one man accusing the company of treating the Katrina wreckage like a theme park.

Meanwhile, all operators are worried about the long-term prospects for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Most agree with Lienhart, who says any turnaround for New Orleans and parts of the Gulf Coast is far off. "Charter business is not going down there. Theyre a long way from recovery."