After two weeks of home tours, carriage rides and other activities, the 72nd annual Columbus Spring Pilgrimage came to a close Saturday.

“We had a good turnout this year,” said Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Nancy Carpenter. “We saw an increase in visitors during the second week; we sold over 500 tickets on Saturday, April 7. We are very pleased with this year’s attendance, especially when the economy is still somewhat sluggish. We had a record crowd attend this past Wednesday’s Tales From The Crypt and some home owners had record attendance the same day.”

According to Tales from the Crypt coordinator Chuck Yarbrough, 1,699 people attended the event at Friendship Cemetery this year.

Though Carpenter said total ticket sales have not been counted as of this morning, she noted visitors from more than 30 states and 12 countries attended the events.

Last year, 2,950 people attended the home tours and 2,100 people attended Tales from the Crypt.

A well-attended pilgrimage equates to money in the local economy, and some downtown merchants said business was good.

“We did really well during pilgrimage this year,” Party and Paper owner Susan Mackay said. “We had some large tour groups shop with us. I have talked to some other merchants and I think Pilgrimage participants definitely spent money in Columbus this year.

Tourism numbers

Mississippi Development Authority’s 2011 Economic Contribution of Travel and Tourism in Mississippi, shows Lowndes County surpasses Adams County and Natchez by more than $8 million in estimated tourism revenue. In the study, Lowndes County brought in $98,738,459 in estimated tourism expenditures and Adams County received $90,080,196 in tourism money.

“People always want to compare Columbus with Natchez when it come to tourism — Natchez started its pilgrimage one year before Columbus,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter continued, “We have tourism events all year long, every month. We don’t just do things in the fall and spring. There is a graduation at the Columbus Air Force Base every three weeks and this always brings people to Columbus. (Mississippi University for Women) is another tourist attraction, because not everyone who attends the school is from Columbus. I like seeing the bottom line from the (CAFB) and (MUW).”

Carpenter said out-of-town workers also helped increase the tourism revenue.

“We have a lot of construction workers in town and they stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants,” she explained.

Providing unique events is another way to keep people coming to the area.

“The Red Tail Exhibit was something very unique and special for Columbus,” Carpenter said, referring to an exhibit of Tuskegee Airmen, held in March. “It was a great way to bring in visitors from other cities and it was also good for our own race relations. Tuskegee Airman Alva Temple was from here; he is part of our local history. We are in talks with his family to have some type of permanent exhibit in his honor.”

Although many associate Columbus tourism with Pilgrimage and festivals, Carpenter noted sporting events also are a very lucrative business.

“Mississippi State (University) sports always sell-out our hotels,” Carpenter said. “When (the University of) Alabama plays home football games, we sell-out our hotels, with an overflow from Tuscaloosa. We are also going to be bidding on soccer tournaments for the new soccer complex. But one of our biggest draws has become fishing tournaments. Even when the weather was bad, we still had 98 people in town fishing in the crappie tournament. The people in these tournaments don’t just come to town for a day. They are here for several days, with their families, eating in our restaurants, shopping in our stores, buying our gas and staying in our hotels. Pilgrimage is another event that attracts people to Columbus who want to come here and spend money.”

In a recent visit to Columbus, economic development expert Bill Fruth downplayed tourism dollars when he said, “Tourism isn’t bad. It just shouldn’t be a priority and hotel rooms are better filled by the commercial crowd.”

Carpenter disputed Fruth’s statement and said Pilgrimage and tourism are important to not only the quality of life for a community, but to the economy as well.

“According to the (MDA), tourism beings in an annual $1.1 billion to the state,” she said. “We definitely see some of that money in Columbus. Tourism created 82,000 direct jobs last year. Our Pilgrimage is a very popular event and when people come from other states or countries to see the homes, they stay in our hotels and shop in our stores.”

Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.