NATCHEZ — For the first time in more than two decades, the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau has current research that may help lure more visitors and more dollars to the city.

Tourism research consultant Berkeley Young and his team at Young Strategies and heritage tourism consultant Cheryl Hargrove began an extensive eight-month research study in April.

They spent time talking to every staff member of the CVB about their respective jobs and reviewing how the staff spends its time, while also experiencing Natchez as tourists would, surveying tourists and community leaders and evaluating the local tourism industry as a whole.

Young and Hargrove recently gave an 82-slide presentation of more than 100 pages of data to Natchez Tourism Director Connie Taunton, Mayor Butch Brown and members of the CVB board and the Tourism Marketing Advisory Committee.

The results of the research came after an organizational review of the CVB, a local lodging market analysis, a profile of Natchez visitors, a survey of community leaders and other research.

Young has worked on similar studies and strategic plans for more than 100 destinations in 27 states, including Tupelo, Oxford, Dutchess County, N.Y., and Oakland, Calif.

The study outlines everything from what type of people visit Natchez and what they liked and disliked about their experience to what community leaders think about the CVB and tourism.

Young and his team also gave recommendations on how to make the CVB more efficient, improving Natchez tourism and planning for the future. The research and recommendations, Hargrove said, are not based on their opinion, but on the research and how visitors experienced Natchez.

Young said a lack of research and the absence of a current strategic plan has set up the CVB for criticism in the past.

“Now we have the research, and we’re getting organized this month, and we’re getting a plan for the future,” he said.

“Everybody needs to focus on a positive direction forward and a plan for success.”

A tourism research study has not been done in Natchez since 1992, Taunton said.

“It’s well overdue,” she said. “A lot of destinations have one done every four years.”

Current research will help the CVB refocus its efforts and center its efforts on bringing more visitors to town.

The Natchez visitor

Young’s team sent out approximately 6,000 surveys to Natchez visitors, of which 1,138 responded.

Most of the surveyed tourists were adult couples and women who are well-educated travelers primarily from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Most of the CVB’s current advertising is focused on that market, Taunton said.

“I was glad to know what we’ve been doing has been right on course,” Taunton said.

A generational analysis of surveyed visitors showed that most of them were of the Baby Boomer generation, followed by Generation X and Generation Y.

Lodging surveys for 2012 indicate that 33.5 percent of hotel or motel guests were leisure travelers, 25 percent conference and meeting, 24 percent business and 17 percent group.

Lodging surveys for bed-and-breakfasts for 2012 indicate 66.3 percent of guests were leisure travelers, 27.5 percent meetings and groups and 4.7 percent individual business travelers.

Young said Natchez has huge potential for growth in its demand for lodging. Young estimated based on data from the study that Natchez’s current occupancy rate for its estimated 1,150 rooms is 45 percent. The nationwide average for 2012 was 61.4 percent, he said.

Increasing occupancy to 60 percent could bump Natchez’s estimated lodging revenue at 45 percent from approximately $16 million to an estimated $22 million.

Approximately 92 percent of travelers were overnight guests, and 8 percent were day-trip tourists.

Average spending for leisure travelers was greater than that for day-trip tourists and business or conference travelers.

Spending for shopping, Young said, is below the national average. Averaged data shows a party of 2.7 leisure travelers spends $108 on shopping while in Natchez for about a two-day trip. That number should be $200-$300, Young said.

Surveyed overnight visitors said their experience could be improved upon by more attractions and activities, dining options and shopping.

More shopping and increased activities were the chief complaint of business travelers.

“You and I know there is good shopping in Natchez,” Young said. “What they’re saying is ‘I didn’t find it.’ That says we need better signage and way-finding.”

One of the challenges of downtown Natchez, Young said, is that many visitors have to walk past several vacant storefronts to find a business.

“We have to fill in the blanks, so that every block is fabulous,” he said.

The biggest complaint of overnight visitors was that stores did not have extended hours of operation and were closed on Sundays, Mondays and holidays.

Revamping the CVB

Young said the study shows that CVB staff spends 66 percent of its time working “in market,” or on local projects, and 34 percent working on outreach to get more visitors to Natchez.

That needs to change, Young said.

“We’re going to have a very aggressive plan focusing on overnight visitations,” he said.

Increasing the number of overnight visitors to Natchez will be the primary goal for the CVB in 2014.

Doing that, Young said, will mean reallocating the CVB’s staff time to more outreach marketing.

Rewriting job descriptions and reassigning staff duties will likely be involved in ensuring the efficiency of the CVB’s work, Young said.

Based on Natchez’s size, the CVB has a big enough budget at approximately $1.3 million.

“(The CVB has) the right amount of money, we just need to reallocate the way we’re working with it so we can put more heads on beds,” he said.

New strategies should include a year-round focus on Natchez marketing, not just particular times of the year, Young said, as well as a marketing plan for Baby Boomers and increasing group sales.

A key to increasing overnight visitors and also making Natchez a three-night trip destination, Young said, will be ensuring visitors have evening activities.

Offering year-round nighttime activities, beyond just nightlife at local bars, on Thursdays and Sundays could entice visitors to stay an extra night, Young said.

Another essential part of keeping local tourism relevant and fresh, Hargrove said, is expanding cultural tourism.

One of Natchez’s biggest cultural tourism opportunities lies at the Forks of the Road, Young said.

“I went out there, and I thought, ‘This is an amazing story, and all we have is a sign,’” he said.

Revising tour experiences at historic houses and attractions to tell new stories of Natchez and engage visitors is one recommendation of the consultants that Taunton said she believes is really valuable.

“I think revamping our cultural tourism to be more honest and in an interesting way where people can interact is important,” she said. “Natchez is so unique and we have so many stories that we could be telling that haven’t been told.”

Changing tours of historic houses to include new stories and allow visitors new access to areas of houses could be key in getting people who have been to Natchez back to town.

“Instead of saying ‘Oh, we’ve been to Natchez,’ … people might say ‘Oh, they’ve got a new tour; we need to go back.’ It’s just like the cemetery tour with Angels on the Bluff. They have a different tour every year, and we have people now wanting us to put them on a list for next year.”

A master plan

Tourism is one component of Natchez’s overall economic development package, Young said.

Young said he believes that to make Natchez successful, the city needs a master plan. That could come in the form of a road map and vision for 2020, Young said.

Clearing a path to the continued and improved success of Natchez tourism and the city as a whole, Young said, will require a team effort from the CVB and other local entities, including the chamber of commerce, Natchez Inc. and other organizations, Young said.

Making sure everyone’s roles and responsibilities are clear and everyone is on the same page is the first step, Young said.

Taunton agrees.

“I think we’re going to have sit around the table and really clarify what everybody’s role is … and have a complete understanding of who is in charge of doing what,” she said.

While the CVB refocuses its strategies to increase room demand in Natchez, other issues such as increased hours of operation for businesses, hospitality training and promoting local events may be better suited for other organizations.

A master plan, Young said, could ensure Natchez stays on track for its huge potential for progress.

“Instead of just a new project here or a new project there, it would all be part of a master plan carried out over 10 or 15 years,” he said. “To me, tourism is a major part of your economic development strategy, but you need to look at the total picture.

 “A positive attitude for a positive direction”

Young and his team will spend December getting input from community members and tourism professionals, prior to rolling out a strategic plan for the CVB in a series of public workshops in January.

Taunton said she hopes the community embraces the CVB’s plan for the future.

“I definitely hope we get buy-in,” she said. “Again, we’re going to focus on inviting people to the party. But when they come to the party, they have to have lodging, they’re going to want to shop. So whether it be retail or accommodation, I hope everyone sees the importance of this and joins us in making it work and embraces it.”