NATCHEZ &045;&045; Bills to create a scenic byway in southwest Mississippi have passed the House and Senate and are on their way to a joint conference committee, Tourism Director Walter Tipton said Wednesday.

&uot;They’ll get the language worked out, (and) then it will be sent to the governor for his signature,&uot; Tipton told a Wednesday meeting of the Convention Promotion Commission.

Natchez &045;&045; along with Vicksburg, Port Gibson and Woodville &045;&045; is lobbying to have a 100-mile stretch of U.S. 61 from north Warren County south to the Louisiana state line named a state scenic byway.

If that is approved, the cities can apply for a federal designation, which could bring grants for discretionary projects, such as marketing and infrastructure, the area’s way.

Meanwhile, Tipton told commission members the Convention and Visitors Bureau staff is keeping busy with efforts to market the area to those, such as tour operators and travel writers, who could bring in more tourists.

Events CVB staffers have attended in recent weeks have ranged from the Chicago Golf Show to a show the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted for tour operators and writers.

They also had 30 appointments with tour bus operators at the Travel South show, Tipton said.

And on Sunday, the Natchez CVB will host a group of 17 German tour operators, he said.

Tipton reported that Natchez Regional Medical Center has agreed to pay $5,000 to help produce film footage of Natchez attractions to be used in television ads. Tipton said he is soliciting donations from area businesses to raise $13,000 more for the filming, which he said should happen in May or June.

The commission also voted to donate $10,000 to help the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration match a National Endowment for the Humanities grant NLCC recently received.

That money will come from the $10,000 NLCC is due to pay for support services it received from the Natchez Convention Center staff during this year’s NLCC event, Tipton said.