With less than one week before Spring Pilgrimage 2018 kicks off, many changes are afoot in the city’s longest running and largest tourist attraction.

Since 1932, Natchez house owners have opened their doors to visitors from around the world, showing off the elaborate and elegant furnishings and style that make Natchez’s antebellum mansions living museums.

This year will mark the first year in many decades that two volunteer groups — the Natchez Garden Club and Pilgrimage Garden Club — will work separately to provide nightly entertainment options for tourists.

That’s a big deal, but not because it signals some kind of fracture between the groups but because in the end it simply offers tourists an even broader array of entertainment options.

Natchez’s tourism offerings have been growing and maturing quickly over the last several years, with increased focus on heritage tourism and on giving tourists more experiences, rather than merely offering them things to observe.

All of those moves, when communicated clearly and marketed well, can significantly increase not only the number of visitors who come to town, but also the quality of experiences they have when they are here.

Tourism remains one of our community’s biggest industries and Spring Pilgrimage is that industry’s busiest times of the year.

Here is hoping Natchez has a great Spring Pilgrimage season ahead.