A full slate of spring events has led the spring tourism season to be the best in recent years, tourism officials said Thursday.

“April and May are building up to be the best two months we’ve had in years,” Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Bill Seratt said following a monthly board of directors meeting. “I think the recovering economy, pent-up demand, Tapestry (The Pilgrimage to Vicksburg), spring breaks and a combination of the other things made that possible. It’s the beginning of spring and people just want to get out.”

The VCVB’s radio, television, print and online advertising and a schedule of local entertainment events contributed to the influx of tourists, he said.

Tapestry organizers extended the tour of historic homes to last a month, and organizers say the move was a good one.

“Already we’re going to surpass last year’s numbers,” Vicksburg Bed and Breakfast Association president Carolyn Stephenson said as the event heads into the final week. The local association spearheads the spring tour of 16 historic homes, churches and museums. The tours feature presentations on history and actors in period costume.

Advertising for Tapestry also began a month earlier, a strategy Seratt said gave people more time to plan their trips.

“Tapestry has been pretty consistent,” he said. “It’s up over last year. We’re very pleased with what’s going on with Tapestry.”

The final Tapestry count will be available in May, said Stephenson, owner of Annabelle Bed and Breakfast on Speed Street.

VCVB board chairman and Southern Cultural Heritage Center Executive Director Annette Kirklin echoed the positives about Tapestry.

“We’ve had really good results at the (SCHC) Cobb House,” she said. “I attribute a good month to Tapestry.”

With a week to go in Tapestry 2011, the oldest building in the former Sisters of Mercy complex at Cherry and Crawford streets has seen 30 visitors, the same number who visited all last year, she said.

Seratt said he hopes next year’s Tapestry will focus on the Civil War’s sesquicentennial commemoration and Vicksburg’s role in the war.

Many of this season’s events took place last weekend during the annual two-day Riverfest entertainment event and the Vicksburg-Warren County Riverfest Arts & Crafts Show.

Organizers estimated the event drew about 5,000.

“Riverfest is a major tourism draw,” Riverfest president Katrina Shirley said. “When people come to your festival, they also visit your restaurants, stores and hotels.”

She said more than 500 pre-sale tickets were sold, a first for the 24-year-old event. The final numbers were not available Thursday, Shirley said.

The arts and crafts show also fared well, organizer Katie Ferrell said.

“Last year was good, but this year was bigger and we had more vendors,” she said.

She said 124 vendor spaces were taken this year, compared with 94 last year.

Events last weekend also included the Old Court House Museum flea market, the Bluz Cruz canoe and kayak race and the Alcorn State University’s Jazz Festival and a tennis tournament at Halls Ferry Park.

The spring flea market made its return after a decade-long hiatus.

“We deemed it successful,” said museum curator Bubba Bolm. “We didn’t feel like we competed with the arts and craft show. We felt like we joined them.”

Bolm said the museum, which sponsors a fall arts and crafts festival, will plan to have a flea market again next year.

Last week, 32 travel writers from across the country were in Vicksburg for a three-day media conference to experience the area’s tourism offerings. They visited historic sites in Vicksburg, Port Gibson and Raymond.

Seratt is confident the conference will have long-term positive effects.

“The travel writers will be blogging about Vicksburg,” he said. “We will get a tremendous return on that whole program.”

Coming in May are more music festivals, art exhibits and plays.

The Vicksburg Chamber Music Festival will preform each week at various locations. The local theaters will present plays during May and the SCHC and the Old Court House Museum have scheduled various events. Visit www.visitvicksburg.com for a list of May events.

In other business, Vicksburg was selected as the city to host the National Narcotics Detector Dog Association’s April 2012 national conference. More than 200 narcotics detector dogs, trainers and key personnel are expected to attend.

The Mississippi Society of Association Executives Mid-Year Conference will be at the Vicksburg Convention Center May 1 to 3.

In addition to Seratt and Kirklin, members in attendance at Thursday’s meeting were Julie Ford, Myra Logue, Betty Bullard, David Day, Lamar Roberts and Willie Glasper.