NATCHEZ — Maybe it was the scripted message affirming diversity that businesses took up when angry customers called.

Maybe it was the Internet-viral call for Natchez to secede from Mississippi, or the resolution adopted by the city’s board of aldermen saying the city doesn’t discriminate.

Maybe the calls for a boycott of the state in light of a controversial bill being signed into law were all bluster.

But if the numbers of visitors from the initial weeks following the signing of House Bill 1523 on April 5 are any indication, Natchez’s tourism industry isn’t hurting even though activists and national groups called for a boycott of the state.

In fact, some numbers appear to be up.

House Bill 1523 allows wedding-related businesses and some officials to deny services to couples if they can cite a sincerely held religious belief or moral convictions, narrowly defining such beliefs to mean “marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman,”  “sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage” and that the terms male and female “refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth.”

When the law was signed, four states and a number of cities banned non-essential government travel to Mississippi, and a number of businesses — particularly in the entertainment and industries — pulled out of commitments in the state. Others called for a travel boycott to the state.

At the Natchez Visitor Reception Center — the face of Natchez tourism — Administrative Assistant Amanda Hargrove  caught a lot of flak from angry callers saying they would never return to or visit Mississippi. If it wasn’t calls, it was emails.

But those calls died down — the last negative message Hargrove received was April 18 — and tourism numbers show Natchez visitors for April significantly surpassing the same period for the previous year, and May is on track to do so.

April 2016 saw 21,430 visitors tracked by the Visitor Center — which is a state welcome center — while April 2015 had 18,835.

May 2015 had 18,046 visitors, while May 2016’s numbers through Wednesday showed 15,631. That comes to approximately 582 visitors per day in May 2015, while May 2016 is at approximately 625 visitors per day.

“As far as we can tell, everything is still steady,” Hargrove said. “We have not received any more calls or emails since that first blast.”

Hargrove said she thought the initial volume of calls, emails and other messages may have colored people’s perspective on how bad the fallout might be.

“Everybody was just so shocked and outraged, but I think all of that has calmed down — everybody has had time to regroup,” she said.

“Our doors are open and business is good, we continue to have smiling visitors’ faces coming through the Visitor Center.”

The Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce — which is officially non-political and had no stance on the bill — was also a target of many of the calls from angry activists because it is the face of business in the area.

Chamber President Debbie Hudson said things have calmed down there, as well, and she hasn’t heard from any chamber member businesses that are losing business because of the law.

“But if there are people who decide, ‘I won’t have Mississippi, I won’t go,’ how would we know if they were disenfranchised and didn’t come?” she said.

Since sales tax collection reports run a couple of months behind, Hudson said the area would likely have a better idea if the calls for boycott were having an impact.

But for now, the Chamber will still use the statement it forwarded to members of its Tourism Council — the statement Natchez Tricentennial Director Jennifer Ogden Combs had the CVB’s public relations craft — should anybody call with a concern, Hudson said.

“We understand your concerns,” the statement reads.

“Please know that Natchez continues to be a welcoming destination for all, respecting the beliefs and rights of all its citizens and visitors alike. We have earned that reputation for the genuine warmth and openness of our people. That has not, and will not change. You can feel comfortable in the knowledge that you will enjoy true hospitality when you visit us here in Natchez. We hope we will see you soon!”