Tourism is vital to Vicksburg, and now that COVID restrictions have been lifted, the River City is on its way back to where it was before the pandemic.

People from around the country, and the world, are coming by car and boat to see all Vicksburg has to offer, and they are glad to be here.

“We are so happy to be back out. You have a beautiful town,” Pennsylvania resident Sharon Bell said, in reference to the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021.

Bell and her husband, Jack, were on their way into the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum after arriving in town via the American Queen riverboat.

Steve and Jean Volz were taking in the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals on Thursday.

The couple is from Wisconsin and traveled to Vicksburg in their RV. Steve said they had been on the road for two weeks vising friends and family in Texas, and were “incrementally” working their way back home.

While, COVID had not affected their travels in their home state, since they camped, Jean said it was nice that things were opened back up.

“It has been nice to go to the museums and the different parks and not have to worry about COVID,” Jean said.

Fred and Carol Bray hail from Mason, Tenn., and it was their second time to visit Vicksburg.

“On our first visit, we had been in New Orleans and had stopped by (Vicksburg) for just a day and had planned to come back, but with COVID and everything,” Fred said, they could not come back until now.

“We love the history behind Vicksburg, and we enjoy finding new places to eat,” he said.

“We just got through eating at Solly’s and it was awesome,” Fred said.

Heather Olivarez, who was traveling with her husband Bucky, lives in Houston, Texas, and she said she was excited people were traveling again.

Heather is a travel agent for Hummingbird Global Getaways.

This was the couple’s first time to visit Vicksburg, and both made comments on the beauty of the town.

“A lot of people take domestic travel for granted and don’t realize everything in our backyard,” Bucky said. “With the COVID, it’s kind of opened everybody back up to say, ‘Hey, do you really need to leave your country to consider yourselves traveling?’”