A Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau staffer will be based at a downtown bookstore until better arrangements can be made, board member David Day said Wednesday.

Troy and Laura Weeks, owners of Lorelei Books at 1103 Washington St., have agreed to house a travel counselor while other VCVB staffers move from temporary quarters at 1300 Washington St., to a &#8220Katrina cottage” in the parking lot of the Visitor Center on Clay across from the entrance to the Vicksburg National Military Park.

The tourism agency has been out of its headquarters downtown since adjacent buildings collapsed in January 2006. Plans are to return to the building on the northeast corner of Washington and Clay when engineers give it a safety clearance.

&#8220They wanted to help the VCVB and Vicksburg have a presence,” Day said of the Weekses.

In addition to the downtown bookstore, board chairman Nelda Sampey said travel counselors will be placed at the Mississippi Welcome Center between the river bridges, at the Vicksburg National Military Park and at the Tourist Information Center, where other staff members are located.

&#8220There will be a constant presence downtown,” said Bill Seratt, who took the post as executive director to the tourism agency last Friday.

Since his hire, Seratt told the board he is &#8220getting to know the turf” of Vicksburg. He has also traveled to Tunica and Birmingham to promote Vicksburg.

&#8220I’m excited about working for the Vicksburg product,” he said. Vicksburg &#8220has a bright future. Give me some time to learn about the product, the people and the personalities. We have the potential to be one of the leading tourism entities.”

Larry Gawronski of Compass of Vicksburg, a subsidiary of Compass Facility Management, the company contracted last year as a management consultant for the agency, reported on the financial statement, which is now prepared by the CPA firm, May & Company. Gawronski said income for the VCVB from January through March was up about $16,000 compared to last year. The increase is due to revenue from the 1 percent food and lodging tax from last year.

The VCVB also saw an increase in tourist visits at the agency’s two locations. In March, 6,027 people visited the two centers, compared to 5,159 last year, said VCVB staff member Mary Anderson. International visitors totaled 137, up from 66 in 2006. The enhanced Web site, where people can order a copy of the new Visitors Guide, is where staff is seeing a surge in requests, up to 315 this year, compared to 151 last year at this time.