Woodville &8212; The arts in a community make a fine launching pad for tourism, and successful examples abound, said Donzell Lee, chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at Alcorn State University in Lorman.

Lee spoke at the Miss-Lou Tourism Summit Thursday, which moved from Natchez to Woodville for the second day of the three-day event.

&8220;A jewel in this part of Mississippi is the Natchez Festival of Music,&8221; Lee said. He is familiar with the festival, as Alcorn is a sponsor and David Blackburn, festival director, is an Alcorn professor of music.

Lee&8217;s presentation was one of three on the program, all devoted to the theme of &8220;niche markets,&8221; an approach to tourism suitable for small communities who want big results.

The musical festival is &8220;a jewel because of the artistic piece but also a jewel because of the economic impact, which is over $2 million,&8221; Lee said.

He explained that the festival recruits singers in New York City, who come to Natchez for the May event. &8220;The singers go back and take the message about the festival to New York and other places in the world,&8221; he said.

Success in creating niche markets emanates from good ideas, Lee said. &8220;The seed of a great idea, a great festival, is perhaps in the back of your mind. You never know how important your idea will be.&8221;

A festival is a good format; so is a museum, he said. &8220;And the ideas of partnerships, working with various agencies, is attractive. It works for us.&8221;

Alcorn also sponsors a jazz festival in Vicksburg, holding it in connection with the Vicksburg River Festival &8212; a good fit, Lee said.

The summit, which concludes today at noon at the Natchez Convention Center, has featured programs on tourism ideas for small communities, centering on ways to identify resources and then ways to market them.

Leland Speed, director of the Mississippi Development Authority, spoke at the conference Wednesday. In an interview by telephone prior to his address, he said, &8220;the name of the game now is regionalism. People do not want to drive all the way from Dallas for one thing.&8221;

Natchez is the main attraction in the Miss-Lou region, he said. &8220;But there is a role for everyone, and everyone can benefit. Tourism is a big industry.&8221;

Speed has become known among tourism circles for his positive approach. &8220;I want us to focus on what we do have, what we&8217;re good at. &8220;

How could Natchez tourists be attracted to Woodville during a visit? &8220;The Woodville area has beautiful waterfalls, natural things they would want to see; Woodville has a great little town square and museums,&8221; he said &8220;People are fascinated with side trips.&8221;

The tourism summit has given approximately 75 who work in the industry in Mississippi and Louisiana the opportunity not only to gather information from the speakers but also from each other.

Walter Tipton, director of Natchez tourism, was beaming after the program that featured Donzell Lee.

Asking a question about getting help in starting a small museum in Tallulah, La., a conferee received information on the spot from three others in the audience who provided names and phone numbers of people to call in Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as promise of a list of federal agencies that might provide grants.

Vidalia Mayor Hiram Copeland said the regional partnerships are a good idea. &8220;We&8217;re in the process of building our convention-conference center,&8221; he said. &8220;We can work hand in hand with our sister city Natchez.&8221;