NATCHEZ — In spite of the early rain during Spring Pilgrimage, tourism business tour house owners say they were pleased with the turnout, though final numbers haven’t been tallied yet.

For many, the final weekend of Pilgrimage more than made up for the weather, which made travel to Natchez rough during the early weeks, said Natchez Pilgrimage Tours Director Lynn Beach Smith. People living in Louisiana and Texas were particularly impacted due to flooding along the Interstate 10 corridor.

“Because of the flooding and rains in the region, people postponed their trips until the final weekend,” Smith said. “The last weekend was phenomenal.”

Even through the weather problems, Smith said business was steady.

A slow start is pretty consistent with the numbers that John Parks, who owns Magnolia Grill and Pearl Street Pasta, said his restaurants experienced.

Parks said business has spiked during the last few weeks and looks to continue strong through April.

“Business is about where it should be around this time of year,” Parks said, adding that Pilgrimage is the kickoff season for when the restaurant business starts to pick up in the area through the summer and fall.

“Number wise, it seems to me like it may have been down a little bit. I’m not talking group deals, of course — we don’t get many groups.”

Since Natchez is celebrating its Tricentennial, tourism officials hoped to see much higher numbers of visitors.Twin Oaks owner Regina Charboneau, who also will be the Pilgrimage Garden Club president starting in May, said tourism was up compared to 2015, but visits to Natchez were down compared to 2014. Charboneau said 2014 was an exceptional year and more in line with what people involved wanted to see.

Charboneau said individual visitors were down, but group numbers were up enough to make up for it.

“The way we look at it, just like a business, we don’t care where the sales come from as long as we make the numbers,” she said. “We are definitely on an upward swing, but we are not where we would like to be.”

Charboneau said the weather was certainly a factor in numbers being down. Charboneau also said she thought the recent disputes between the city, its former tourism director and the commission overseeing the convention and visitors bureau played a factor.

“I think our mistake is we started to think we could rely on other people to help us with pilgrimage,” she said. “I think we are a group of strong women, and we are not going to rely on the city or CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau). We are going to do it.”

On the other side of that coin, Christine Tims, who is the Bed and Breakfast Association President and owns Bisland House, said tourism grows with unity on every level.

“What we need to do is work together, and make that work all about Natchez,” she said. “I think everyone benefits when we all work together.”

Similar to what was experienced at Twin Oaks, Tims said more groups came through Natchez during Pilgrimage. She said a big aspect this year were friends from all around the country choosing Natchez as their meeting site.

Tims also said that guests were remaining longer than the usual one- or two-night stay.

“What we often see happen is people will come and be surprised to find so many things to do in Natchez,” she said. “They end up coming back another time.”

And when they come back, Tims said, they often bring more people with them.

Tims said visitors were aware of the Tricentennial, but she didn’t think too many people came here specifically for the event.

Jennifer Smith, president of the Natchez Garden Club, said she agreed that Pilgrimage tourists were aware of the tricentennial, but enthusiasm for the event wasn’t what she hoped.

“I think it is just that people are aware of it,” she said. “They had seen stories in publications.”

Smith said she hadn’t seen final numbers, but that she thought the totals would end up pretty consistent with 2015’s Spring Pilgrimage.

At Melrose, part of the Natchez National Historical Park, park ranger Melissa Tynes said things were looking up compared to 2015.

“We had sold out tours and people standing in line waiting,” she said.

Tynes said higher numbers of visitors at Melrose, which is open all year round, didn’t surprise her.

She said individual sales were higher than group sales at the National Park Service house.

“A lot of people are looking to come visit a national park — it’s a big thing right now,” she said. “We are family friendly, as kids can run all around on our 80 acres.”

Charboneau said regardless of what the final numbers on overall visitors ultimately indicate, tourism in Natchez is looking up.

“We want year-round visitors,” Charboneau said. “We focus on the Spring and Fall Pilgrimages, but there is a reason to come to Natchez year-round to see these homes.

“We do dinners, music events and special tours all year.”