VIDALIA — After more than three years of waiting and $5.2 million, the new Vidalia Conference and Convention Center opened its doors for the Miss-Lou Regional Tourism Summit Tuesday.

The summit is an educational program to target and enhance tourism opportunities for the Miss-Lou.

Approximately 100 representatives from 16 Louisiana parishes and 17 Mississippi counties attended the conference, which began Tuesday and will last through Thursday, Vidalia Riverfront Administrator H.L. Irvin said.

The goal of the conference is so the parishes and counties in the Miss-Lou can work together to bring more tourism to the area, Vidalia Conference and Convention Center Events Coordinator Jenny Branton said.

“We’re here to help the whole area,” she said. “We want to work with Natchez and they want to work with us.”

The 26,000 square foot facility came equipped with the latest technology, including drop-down screens and video projectors so those not close to the stage can see the speaker, Irvin said.

“We’ve only had good comments,” Branton said. “A lot of people were impressed with our audio-visual equipment, and we had one speaker tell us this is the first time anywhere they saw everything work.”

A few out of sight touch-ups need to be done to the facility, including balancing the air-conditioning units, Irvin said.

“We had everything ready for the conference,” he said.

The convention center staff are currently using temporary offices, but plan to move into their permanent offices by mid-to-late fall with the beginning of construction for the second phase, Branton said.

Projections for the second phase of the building aim to have it constructed by March.

Aside from offices, the second phase — an addition of approximately 11,000 feet —will incorporate a Red Cross evacuation shelter.

The cost for the second phase is set at $1.7 million, and will — like the first phase — be funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.