The meeting is months away, but excitement about the Miss-Lou Tourism Summit is growing, said Glen McGlothin, marketing director for the Town of Vidalia.

“It’s great that we can get together and work together,” McGlothin said.

The conference, to be held in Vidalia in August, will bring together tourism and marketing directors from Southwest Mississippi and Northeast Louisiana.

The second of its kind, the meeting holds great potential for promoting tourism, said Walter Tipton, Natchez director of tourism.

“Last year, everyone thought it was such a good idea that they wanted to do it again,” Tipton said.

“It’s gaining support from the Mississippi State (University) and LSU agricultural extension offices,” he said. Both of those offices look for ways to promote agriculture and tourism as economic development.

“Our slogan these days is ‘partner or perish,’” Tipton said.

“If you go to the state for money for Natchez, they feel they have to provide the same thing for other places. But going to the state as a region is different.”

McGlothin agreed. “The regional concept puts us out there to get help from the state. There is grant money available,” he said.

“Everyone realizes the smaller towns, especially in the Mississippi delta region and kind of out of the way, are losing population, but we’re still a wonderful area for history, shops and restaurants,” McGlothin said.

Small towns not only have the history and good food to offer, but they have the slow pace, the off-the-interstate kind of travel, McGlothin said.

Tipton said the August meeting in Vidalia will bring 200 tourism professionals to the area.

“We’ll meet in Vidalia, but lots of people will be staying in hotels in Natchez and eating in Natchez restaurants,” he said.

One goal of the meeting this year will be to formalize the agreement among all the counties and parishes by adopting by-laws for the organization.

“This will be significant for us to seek funds,” Tipton said.

The group also has the support of both the Louisiana and Mississippi divisions of tourism, he said.

McGlothin said he sees significance in having two states involved in the summit.

“I’m excited that we do not look at the river as something that separates us,” he said.