NATCHEZ &8212; With Hurricane Katrina severely damaging convention venues on the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans, a few large groups have rescheduled events from the affected area to Natchez.

That will bring hundreds of convention-goers to the area from now through the summer, Tourism Director Walter Tipton said.

And that&8217;s even before Natchez radio and TV spots targeting Deep South metro areas have begun.

One thing that helped bring in the bookings &8220;is that this is our fourth full year being in operation,&8221; Tipton said. &8220;A lot of it has to do with referrals.&8221;

The Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau has estimated out-of-town event-goers spend $200 a day on hotels, meals, gas, souvenirs and the like. That&8217;s multiplied by 1.7 to get the indirect economic impact.

Those events include the following:

4A Mississippi Tourism Association convention that will bring 300 people to the area in February. They were originally scheduled to go to the Grand Casino on the coast, Tipton said.

4A Mid-South Builders Association meeting scheduled for early March, which will bring in about 200 people.

4A Mississippi Rural Water Association three-day meeting set for the last week of June. That should bring 250 people to the area.

In addition, the Mississippi Association of Realtors is bringing 250 to 300 people into the area the first week of December for their fall workshop. The group&8217;s annual convention was scheduled for September in Natchez but was cancelled due to Katrina.

Those conventions will be supplemented by other non-conference events, including a Phil Waldrop Ministries event set for the third week of April &8212; &8220;we&8217;re expecting about 1,200 people, and it&8217;s a week-long conference, Tipton said &8212; and a Harley owners rally scheduled for the third weekend in June.

May and June will feature the statewide conferences the Lions Club and the Fraternal Order of Elks, with estimated attendance of 300 and 150 people, respectively.

A Southern Christian Services conference with 450 people, set for July, and the triennial Sadie V. Thompson Era Reunion set for next summer should round out the Convention Center&8217;s offerings through the summer, Tipton said.