NATCHEZ &8212; The Delta Queen Steamboat Company isn&8217;t making its regular trips to New Orleans this year, putting Natchez at a disadvantage.

The American Queen steamboat, based in New Orleans, won&8217;t be running in 2006.

The company&8217;s Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen steamboats will still make stops of about once a week during this year&8217;s nine-month touring season, company spokesperson Lucette Brehm said.

Natchez tourism officials are already crunching the numbers to see how the American Queen&8217;s absence will affect tourism numbers.

Natchez Tourism Director Walter Tipton said he expects attendance at the Historic Natchez Pageant, a centerpiece of the annual Spring Pilgrimage, to be down about 10 percent.

&8220;Overall, we expect a 5 percent decrease (in tourism revenues) overall,&8221; Tipton said. But until after Pilgrimage, &8220;it will be hard to judge the retail impact.&8221;

Last year, the American Queen made 11 stops in Natchez, Brehm said. It is not yet clear when the American Queen, which has been in private charter since Hurricane Katrina, could resume its cruises, she said.

&8220;We&8217;ll miss them,&8221; Tipton said.

While the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen, now departing from Baton Rouge, will still stop in Natchez regularly, Tipton said he&8217;s not overestimating the number of tourists those boats will bring.

&8220;I don&8217;t think they&8217;ll have a lot of success&8221; getting a large number of passengers, Tipton said.

That is because so many of the cruise packages the company books include New Orleans.