NATCHEZ — Sales tax revenue for the City of Natchez rose almost 2 percent in November 2015, but dropped by more than 9.5 percent in December.

In November 2014, the city collected $467,819 in sales tax revenue. In November 2015, $476,856 was collected.

December 2014 earned the city $508,392 in sales tax, compared to $459,650 in 2015.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said the tax revenue numbers are a good indicator of tourism in the city.

“It comes from people eating, drinking, and staying in hotels,” Holloway said. “It’s the city’s biggest source of revenue.”

After October 2015’s 12-percent sales tax slump, the numbers seem to be consistently lower than last year’s.

However, 2014 may have been a high year for sales tax. October and December 2014 saw the highest sales tax revenue at least since 1985, and November 2014’s sales tax revenue was the highest since 2005, and only increased in 2015.

The 2015 numbers are still steady compared to 2013.

October 2015 shows exactly the same revenue as October 2013, November 2015 increased from 2013 by 11.7 percent, and December 2015 dropped 3.6 percent compared to 2013.

Holloway said the general economy might be to blame for the decrease.

“The economy’s not that great right now, it kind of slowed down a bit,” Holloway said. “That’s what I would attribute it to, after talking to some bankers.”