Guest Columnist
Former Commissioner of Agriculture, Jim Buck Ross, famously said that it was easier to pick a tourist than a bale of cotton.
Tim Kalich, editor and publisher of the Greenwood Commonwealth, echoed that sentiment and quoted Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, who said, "We don't have to be ashamed by the Civil War and civil rights. It happened. Why don't we embrace it and fleece the visitors?"
Kalich commented, "History is no different than the human beings who lived it. It's always a mix of heroes and scoundrels...if history didn't have some dark sides, no one would be interested."
No one can accuse us of being boring. Mississippi is a fascinating place, and the next several years will bring a mixed bag of tourists to our state. 2011 is the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War. Mississippi is second only to Virginia in the number of Civil War battle sites. The year 2017 will mark our state's two hundredth birthday. Both of these years will be big for Mississippi's tourist industry.
A number of ideas are currently being discussed to help us get ready. Among them: develop better air travel options between tourist destinations within the state, establish commissions highlighting and supporting cultural and heritage destinations, and formulate new themes such as celebrating our state's food heritage. (If we are the fattest people in America, there has to be a reason for it.)
Will we agree with all of the ideologies of all of the travelers who venture into our state? Probably not, but if they come peacefully to learn about our history and spend money here, we should make them welcome.
General Ulysses S. Grant may not have been popular in the 19th century South, but his trip to Vicksburg during the American Civil War will translate into 21st century tourism dollars. That will be a victory we should celebrate.
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