NATCHEZ &8212; Natchez Fall Pilgrimage opens today, with morning and afternoon tours featuring three houses each.

Morning tours, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., today feature Monmouth, Selma and Brandon Hall. Afternoon tours, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., include Stanton Hall, The Burn and The Wigwam.

The Natchez Pilgrimage Tours ticket counter at the Visitor Reception Center, 640 S. Canal St., is ready, said Dr. James Coy, NPT manager.

&8220;We are ready with our big counter to accommodate the large crowd we anticipate,&8221; Coy said.

He smiled to indicate that he knows the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans continue to affect Natchez tourism in important ways.

Visitation for Fall Pilgrimage was decidedly down in 2005 and may continue in 2006 to be below numbers of recent years before the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.

Still, Coy is optimistic. Group tours &8212; those arriving on motor coaches and bringing dozens of people at a time &8212; &8220;are still severely down,&8221; Coy said. &8220;They depend so much on New Orleans when they travel outside a 250-mile radius.&8221;

Coy is encouraged by interest shown from areas closer to Natchez, and he and others have been working to market those areas aggressively.

&8220;We&8217;ve been very successful with our regional advertising,&8221; he said. &8220;People are coming after hearing for the first time what a wonderful little town Natchez is.&8221;

Group tours may be five to 10 years away from getting back to normal, Coy said. Meanwhile, ticket agents are ready. Home owners have painted outside and polished inside. And entertainers are rehearsed for another season of evening shows.

Coy is impressed with the enthusiasm of the home owners and their efforts to get more men involved as hosts at the houses, as well as to present houses more as living history museums than art museums.

The Fall Pilgrimage, patterned after its older sister, Spring Pilgrimage, began in 1977. The 2006 season will continue to Oct. 14.

In addition to the 18 houses shown on three-house tours, Longwood will be open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.