Good news at BOMA: Tourism triumphs

Laura Beth Strickland from the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau presented several positive updates on tourism in Vicksburg and Mississippi before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday morning.

According to Strickland, the January numbers have shown great promise concerning the 1% hospitality tax. This year, the collection yielded $113,168.79, which is a 7.8% increase over 2022, 14.5% over 2021, and 12.6% over 2020.

Hotel revenue numbers are in for January and February. Earnings have hit 4.6 million according to the Smith Travel Report while hotel occupancy came in at 42%, an average amount for this time of year, according to Strickland.

“We expect that to grow during these busy months of April, May, and June,” Strickland elaborated.

According to Strickland, ARPA marketing funds are also on the way.

“We have awarded contracts and we will begin the work in the next week trying to get all that out,” said Strickland.

Strickland continued by stating that their organization has been awarded more funds in this past session. While the exact dollar amount is not known yet, she expects it to go a long way in helping promote Vicksburg, “especially as we approach our bicentennial.”

“This past month we’ve also dedicated two historic markers in the Vicksburg Historic district with the city of Vicksburg,” Strickland continued. “We’re working to get the new visitors guide out, and we also attended MTA Tourism Day at the capital last month.”

In terms of group tours in February, there were six guided tours, 19 riverboat tours, and 10 hop-on-hop-off tours for the American Queen.

Bureau employees have also attended several meetings aimed at enriching tourism over the past couple of months, such as the Media Mission to Toronto in March, and they have plans for future meetings in the works.

“They and the Vicksburg convention Center and Southern Hospitality services are also planning a sales blitz to Jackson to meet with meeting tour operators at the end of May,” said Strickland.

The goal is to persuade them to hold meetings in Vicksburg. Over 3.3 million ads have been served to potential travelers online through the end of March, with a “good click-through rate of .72 (the average rate is .4),” said Strickland. “In February, our visitor information centers welcomed 2,790 visitors, an increase of 1,140 from last year.”