Nasty, wet weather gave the 2015 Natchez Spring Pilgrimage a bit of a boggy start.

Azaleas aren’t in full bloom yet and much of March’s weather has made the area look more like a London suburb than a jewel of the American South.

Ironically, such inclement weather is what led a group of smart, enterprising ladies in 1932 to turn a damp tour of gardens into one of America’s longest running tours of houses.

Despite the weather, tourists are still coming to Natchez for the annual event and with them they’re bringing money from elsewhere that gets invested and reinvested in our community.

Tourism is a great economic driver for the Natchez area, providing jobs, generating taxes and doing all of it without causing any sort of environmental concerns.

It’s truly a win-win for everyone involved.

While the numbers of tourists so far this year haven’t been as high as last year, local tourism leaders suggest the season appears to be picking up, and they expect the last few weeks to continue improving.

We hope they’re correct, but we also hope that tourism officials are working hard to study and better understand the kind of tourists who come to Natchez. In doing so, perhaps, they can simultaneously figure out how to attract those who typically don’t come to Natchez.

Having a solid plan for marketing to potential tourists ahead of Natchez’s 300th anniversary next year, will be a key to knocking the Natchez tricentennial ball out of the park.