Tourism dollars up in Warren County, reflecting a statewide trend

Monday, May 1, 2000 | 3:43 a.m.

That total is up dramatically from 1998 tallies and reflects a statewide trend.

The Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development figures showed that Warren County businesses received $101.4 million in non-gaming revenue from visitors in 1999. That amounts to an increase of 11.2 percent over the $91.3 million received in the previous year.

Statewide, visitors spent $2.78 billion in Mississippi in 1998 and $2.94 billion in 1999 for an increase of 6 percent.

Lenore Barkley, executive director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the figures compiled by the state agency are interesting because it appears there were probably fewer visitors in 1999 compared to 1998.

Barkley said 285,605 visitors registered at the bureau's tourist information centers and at the Mississippi Welcome Center in 1999. She said the 1998 total was 292,507.

Although the figures do not represent the total visitation to the community, Barkley said they at least give some indication of a trend.

"I have no idea why the number of visitors is down but the dollars are up," she said. "People are just spending more."

To put the local non-gaming earnings in perspective with other communities, Adams County reported total tourism and recreation earnings of $75.7 million in 1998 and $79.9 million in 1999 for a 5.5 percent increase. Neighboring Claiborne County reported $2.04 million in 1998 and $2.05 million, an increase of 0.4 percent.

Vicksburg's four casinos opened in 1993 and 1994 and attract large numbers of patrons each year. These gamblers leave more than $200 million in slot machines or at table games.

The gambling totals are tracked separately from other tourism dollars.

While the gross revenues from tourism have been rising, so has the income that funds the bureau and its efforts to attract more and more visitors.

Figures supplied by Barkley show that over the past five years the bureau's income has risen a small amount each year - from $750,095 in 1995 to $799,523 in 1999.

The money comes from a 1 percent tax imposed on all hotel, motel and bed and breakfast room rents and on the sales at food service businesses and lounges that gross more than $100,000 a year.