The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway &045;&045; which we like to say begins here &045;&045; is getting a new marketing plan through a partnership among Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama.

The Natchez Trace Compact will help promote tourism all along the route, which will of course help our community, where tourism is a leading industry.

Now the group is preparing to ask for $400,000 in grant funds for international marketing efforts for the Trace. It is a good time to begin marketing to international visitors again, since our city in particular has been a destination in the past for such tourists.

This cooperative effort is a great way for all of the communities along the Trace to benefit from tourism efforts &045;&045; and we can’t imagine a community benefitting better than Natchez, by far the prettiest along the route.

All egotism aside, we hope Natchez itself can also continue to learn from this kind of marketing effort.

Already we have seen private tourism businesses that pooled their marketing efforts for larger ad buys in national magazines.

This kind of effort makes great sense and can have a huge impact for small businesses that wouldn’t be able to buy that kind of advertising on their own.

The attention that continues to be paid to marketing our area can only help all of us as we continue to grow tourism.