NATCHEZ &045; Group tours were way up and individual ticket sales were slightly down in the just ended fall Pilgrimage, tourism officials said.

But the numbers ended up just about even with last year, said John Saleeby, director of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours.

&uot;Group tours were almost double what they were last year,&uot; he said.

With the number of tour buses in town up about 25 percent, that meant either the buses had more people or the people toured more houses, Saleeby said.

But individual ticket sales were down about 10 or 12 percent this year, he said. That made the gains in other areas a wash compared to last year.

Saleeby said NPT has been working hard to push its group ticket sales. Coupled with a national boost in tourism, that has helped increase sales.

&uot;Tour companies nationally are healthier than they have been,&uot; he said.

Another factor that helped is the Delta Queen steamboats were in town.

&uot;For the first time I can remember they were here for Fall Pilgrimage,&uot; Saleeby said.

Natchez Tourism Director Walter Tipton said he expects October to be a successful month for tourism, not only because of the strength of Pilgrimage and the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race weekend but also because of several overnight groups using the convention center.

This may be the best month yet for the kind of groups that put &uot;heads on beds&uot; &045; the convention center guests who use the facility multiple days and fill area hotels.

&uot;We’ve had some pretty sizeable groups at the convention center,&uot; Tipton said.

Earlier in the month, the convention center hosted the American Cancer Society with 130 participants for a three-day stay. Last week, the Mississippi Library Conference brought about 500 people for a four-day stay. Later this week, a group of state tourism officials will be in town overnight to see Natchez’s tourism sites, and about 100 of Mississippi’s black elected leaders will be in town at the end of the week.