If you have walked Washington Street, had a meal at a downtown restaurant or caught a glimpse of one of the brightly colored American Queen Steamboat Company buses toting visitors around town recently, you know the tourists are back.

Bed and breakfasts in town are bustling, tourists on bicycles are pedaling our streets and local tours are in high demand.

These tourists are visiting our community hoping to get a glimpse of Vicksburg’s culture and experience the history and southern charm our town offers. They come to enjoy our restaurants, learn about our past at our museums, and experience our present.

Many tourists are drawn here because of the Vicksburg National Military Park, and many of the visitors are planning to spend all or part of their day exploring the park and its history.

We were glad to learn the Military Park recently reopened access to the outdoor area of the USS Cairo, African American Monument, and the restrooms at the Cairo and at the Visitors Center.

We hope the park will continue its efforts to fully, and safely, reopen to the public. Tourism is one of the largest industries in Warren County. Getting the park’s visitors center and the Cairo Museum open to the public is important for the park itself, but also to every resident in town. The park fully reopening means more visitors will come to enjoy all Warren County has to offer, and subsequently puts more money back into our local economy.

The park recently released a statement sharing its plans of reopening the Visitors Center later this month. We hope the park fulfills those plans and details a path for reopening the Cairo Museum.

The military park served Warren County residents well last year as COVID set in on our community. It was an outdoor recreation area and solace from the stresses of the pandemic. We are glad to see this community asset opening exhibits, roads and restrooms to serve our tourists.