NATCHEZ &045; Interest in locating a hotel across Canal Street from the Convention Center is picking up, Tourism Director Walter Tipton said at Wednesday’s Convention Promotion Commission meeting.

&uot;It started picking up after January 1,&uot; Tipton said. &uot;It’s the start of a new tax year, for one thing, and (renewed interest) is also due to the economy picking up.&uot;

Tipton said two parties are seriously considering building such a hotel. While he wouldn’t name either group, Tipton did say City Attorney Walter Brown and Michael Ferdinand, director of the Economic Development Authority, met Tuesday on the project.

West, interviewed later Wednesday, would say only that city officials asked the EDA last week &uot;to be more involved in this project.&uot; Ferdinand could be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

Tipton said 12 groups &045; including the Mississippi Association of Supervisors and the Mississippi Tourism Association, of which Tipton is president &045; have said they’ll seriously consider Natchez as a convention location, but only if such a hotel is in place.

&uot;They say there aren’t enough rooms&uot; to accommodate attendees, Tipton said.

In an October article, Mayor Phillip West named landing a convention center hotel as one of eight priorities for this term in office.

As it now stands, 23 new events with estimated attendance of 100 or more apiece are booked for the Convention Center this year.

Those range from a Mississippi River Kayak Race event with 100 people to gospel and Episcopal Diocese events, both this month, and the Jordan World Circus in May. The three latter events are each estimated to draw 1,000 people.

The total attendance and number of events for 2005 was not available Wednesday since the Convention and Visitors Bureau is still confirming some bookings, Tipton said.

Tipton told the commission the facility hosted 108 events last year, up from 76 in 2002 but down from 134 in 2003. However, he said last year’s events generated more hotel room nights than those of 2003.

&uot;We’ve started to tweak our (event) mix so we have bigger groups and they stay longer,&uot; Tipton said. &uot;But what would really cause that to take off is an adjacent hotel.&uot;

Also in Wednesday’s meeting:

4Tipton said the recent elimination of the $1 bus tax will cost his budget $20,000. He said he’s been assured the positive economic impact of the change will more than make up that loss.

4Tipton said the Natchez Trace Compact, of which Natchez is a member, is applying for a $230,000 federal Scenic Byways grant. The $46,000 match will be paid for with money the organization already set aside.

The money would be used, among other things, to commission photos of Natchez Trace cities, to enhance the compact’s Web site and to fund a $135,000 national ad campaign.

Natchez pays $3,000 in yearly dues to the compact.

4CVB staff announced Mississippi Public Broadcasting will return several more times through May to tape programs about Natchez events, from the Krewe of Phoenix Parade to Pilgrimage to the Natchez Festival of Music.

4An American Idol preliminary competition will be held at one of the city’s facilities, probably the City Auditorium, in June in conjunction with Fox 48. A similar event was held last year in Natchez.

4Tipton said tourism tax warrants the fiscal year that started Oct. 1 are up $3,000 versus the same period the year before.