Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville tourism rollin' on the River

When it comes to tourism, things are rolling on the River. Natchez, Vicksburg and Greenville continue to welcome visitors despite rising fuel costs - and record-high water upstream.

Natchez

It may be too early to accurately gauge the effect of gasoline prices in Natchez because the pilgrimage

"We've been focusing on that and it's paid off," says Walter Tipton, executive director of the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We don't see any drop off in those. Conferences are more stable than leisure travel."

Noting that the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the Iraq War have taken a toll on leisure travel, he says the city made the decision to focus on conferences and built a new convention center with the result that tourism-related taxes are showing a steady increase. Another blow to leisure travel came when Hurricane Katrina took the steamboats off the river.

"We are balancing conferences with other tourism," Tipton says, "and are seeing some new small restaurants springing up along with downtown shopping where there are some new antique and gift shops."