Hope floats and history sinks.

Unless, of course, you are Natchez, your business is tourism and your tourism is history. In that case, it seems to be a win-win.

Gov. Haley Barbour thinks so, and he’s right on target.

Southwest Mississippi is economically lagging behind the rest of our state. We don’t have manufacturing jobs. We don’t have industries. And we don’t have easy highway access.

But we do have potential, hope.

Rentech, casinos and hotels aside, Natchez already has one of the nation’s biggest moneymakers — tourism.

Antebellum houses, a gorgeous riverfront and more stories to tell than ears to hear them, Natchez has the ingredients. Mixing them in the right manner could draw in spectators from around the world.

Tourism is already the town’s largest industry, but keying in on it, changing with the times and marketing bigger and better could make our small town hum and our cash registers bulge.

Why not take advantage of a growing world interest in tourism? Why not use the resources we have?

The government and Hurricane Katrina have made small and large business growth easier right now through the GO Zone legislation. Many upgrades and expansions come with hefty tax breaks if done within the next two years. Our restaurants, gift shops, stores and more should be seizing the moment before it is gone.

Our community pulled together like never before to help thousands of hurricane evacuees cope in 2005. We proved we can do anything and can deal with anything.

That same spirit should lead us into the future and expand our economy even without the smokestacks of traditional industrial growth.

The potential is here.