Most real estate agents agree the three most important factors a property should have are location, location, location, and when it comes to tourism, Vicksburg sits on a prime piece of real estate.

“The economic impact of tourism is Mississippi is phenomenal. It’s a $6.2 billion industry,” said Bill Seratt, executive director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He said tourism supplies 84,345 direct jobs and 115,025 indirect jobs across the state.

“Its a great location with great roads to get people here. We are on I-20, near 55, along Highway 61— America’s Blues Highway, a corner of the county is almost on the Natchez Trace, and we’re between Dallas and Atlanta, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans,” Seratt said Tuesday during the Vicksburg Kiwanis Club weekly meeting. Seratt along with Laura Beth Strickland, the VCVB communication’s manager, presented an overview of the functions performed by the organization and the economic impact tourism has on the city.

“What does tourism mean to Vicksburg?” Seratt asked.

“In 2014, we had $205 million in travel and tourism expenditures,” he said.

“That is 4,000 direct jobs, which is about 20 percent of the total workforce in Warren County,” Seratt said.

In the past 10 years, Vicksburg has seen a 31 percent increase in hospitality tax collections.

“That is really remarkable when you realize everything that has gone on in this country,” he said.

The VCVB partners with other entities within the state including the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division, the Mississippi Tourism Association, the Mississippi Delta Tourism Association, the Mississippi River Parkway Commission and the Miss-Lou Rural Tourism. They also partner locally with the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation, Vicksburg Main Street, the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce and the Vicksburg Convention Center, he said.

“We are in touch with these people on a daily basis,” Seratt said.

Tourism generates $459.4 million in travel and tourism tax revenues totaling 5.1 percent of the $5 billion state general fund.

“Tourism is a huge economic driver for Vicksburg, and it affects everybody in this room,” Seratt said.

Compared to the advertising dollars spent in other states, Mississippi falls short.

“We have been working very closely with the Governor’s office to get a direct line item allocation — an additional $5.1 million to the advertising budget for the state of Mississippi,” Seratt said.

“This would put us on a more even playing field with the states around us,” he said.

The VCVB’s primary funtion is to promote Vicksburg.

“Part of our job is to go out and be seen and to be a part of what is happening. It is not our job to be the happening. We are to be there to support the people that are there making things happen. We are not a presenting organization — we are a promotional organization,” he said.

To aid in promoting, VCVB is now taking advantage of social media, Seratt said.

“Laura Beth has hit the ground running with our social media in advertising and public relations and visitvicksburg.com is listed as one of the top 100 destination websites in the country,” he said.

“If you haven’t been to the website, I urge you to go. There is lots of information, especially the events portion. There is an event everyday of the year, in Vicksburg, and if you don’t know of anything to do please call me,” Strickland said.

VCVB is active on Facebook, Pinterest and other social media sites.

“Facebook and Twitter are the main ones,” she said.

“Our Twitter just got named as one of the most followed destination marketing organizations, and our Pinterest just got named in one of the top 100,” Strickland said.

VCVB also has a blog, she said.

“It’s a great way to talk informally to people and tell them what is going on,” Strickland said.

VCVB also uses traditional ad placement in newspaper, television, radio and billboards.

Besides Seratt and Strickland, the VCVB team is comprised of an operations manager, a sales manager, a visitor services manager and 11 travel counselors, and they operate out of four locations. The visitors center is at 52 Old Highway 27, Seratt said, and the other locations include the Vicksburg National Military Park, the Old Depot Museum and the Mississippi Welcome Center.