Declining dollar brings more foreigners to city|[06/23/08]

Published 12:00 am Monday, June 23, 2008

Sydney, Australia, residents Jim Cooper and Dave Roman are typical of international tourists who visit Vicksburg. They’ve been to both U.S. coasts, but never the South. They’re blues fans, and they’re driving U.S. 61 from New Orleans to Memphis in search of the music, Southern culture and hospitality they’ve heard so much about – and they’re getting a bargain on it all.

“Everything is very, very cheap for us,” said Cooper while at the Old Court House Museum Friday morning.

While most Americans are expected to travel less this summer due to economically hard times and high gas prices, the low dollar value makes this a prime opportunity for foreign tourists to visit the United States. Although Vicksburg has historically brought in a relatively low number of international travelers, attraction operators and business owners say they are seeing a noticeable increase in foreign faces.

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“Over the past year, really, there’s been a great increase in the number of foreign travelers we’re seeing,” said Daniel Boone, owner of Highway 61 Coffee House on Washington Street. “This past spring we would get international visitors every day. It’s been a few a week since the weather got hotter; more than usual.”

A total of 304 foreign tourists registered at the Mississippi Welcome Center near the Mississippi River bridges in Vicksburg in May – up from 191 in May last year.

It’s still a small number compared to roughly 10,000 visitors to the welcome center each month, but it is a 60 percent annual increase.

“I’ve never seen as many foreign tourists here as I have in the past few months, and they’re all saying it’s the dollar,” said welcome center supervisor Elmeree Bradley.

The majority of foreign tourists to Vicksburg and Mississippi come from England, Western Europe, Scandinavian countries and Canada. They stay an average of 3.7 days and spend about $120 per day, according to research by the state tourism division – which operates offices in England, Germany, Canada and Japan. They are interested in music, Southern history and culture. Casinos are not the main attraction, but a bonus.

Cooper and Roman spent only one night in Vicksburg, and said they were disappointed at the lack of blues bars in town.

“We thought there would be a lot of live music; three or four gigs a night – and maybe a blues museum,” Cooper said. “There wasn’t. It was a bit disappointing.”

Although not as interested in the Civil War history as the blues, Cooper and Roman decided to visit the Old Court House Museum before leaving town.

By the numbersDeclining exchange rates on the dollar since January 2002.On Jan. 1, 2002, $1 was worth 1.10 Euro, 0.69 British pound, 1.59 Canadian dollar and 1.94 Australian dollar.On Jan. 1, 2005, $1 was worth 0.74 Euro, 0.52 British pound, 1.20 Canadian dollar and 1.28 Australian dollar.On Friday, $1 was worth 0.64 Euro, 0.50 British pound, 1.01 Canadian dollar and 1.05 Australian dollar.”Foreign tourists are accounting for only about 2 percent of our total visitors, but that’s still more than what we’ve seen in years past,” said George “Bubba” Bolm, Old Court House Museum curator and director.

The number of tourists to Mississippi from outside the United States increased by 150 percent from 2001 to 2008, according to the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division. Year to date, foreign tourism is up 68 percent from last year.

“The South has always been an incredible tourism bargain compared to the rest of the United States, which makes us even more attractive to foreign tourists right now,” said Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Bill Seratt. “Not only are they getting great exchange rates, they’re also used to paying even higher gas prices than those that are keeping Americans at home.”

Vicksburg may be benefiting more by increased international tourism than other Mississippi destinations because of its locale, said Seratt. Not only does the city boast one of the Mississippi River’s grandest overlooks and one of the country’s most significant Civil War battlefields, it is full of antebellum homes and history. Additionally, it’s a midway point on U.S. 61 – the “Blues Highway” – between Memphis and New Orleans.

“Vicksburg has a cultural heritage that comes with its own soundtrack, and that provides us several advantages,” said Seratt. “Many foreign travelers come to the South to drive the blues highway and see the Mississippi River.”

Boone hopes a local live music scene will emerge in Vicksburg to keep tourists like Cooper and Roman in town for more than one night.

“The weak dollar is why they’re in America, but it doesn’t explain why they’re coming to Vicksburg,” he said. “The majority are traveling this cultural road – Highway 61 – which is really a blues trail. They’re interested in American music, and if they could find it here, I imagine they’d stop more often and stay longer.”

While more foreign tourists are in Vicksburg than ever, the good exchange rates doesn’t mean they’re necessarily spending more while they’re here.

“I think they’re just seeing more; getting more bang for their buck,” said Lamar Roberts, owner and director of the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum.

Attendance at the battlefield museum is up 40 percent this year, said Roberts, but gift shop sales are barely holding steady from a year ago. Attendance at the Old Court House Museum is also up, while gift shop sales remain flat.

“I just don’t think they want to bring a whole suitcase full of souvenirs home,” said Roberts, “but I do expect we’ll see a steady increase in the number of overseas tourists.”