Page 76 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2015

STAYCATIONS no place like home
Sail Boat Day Trip
Katrina Memorial
Beauvoir
TOURIST
FOR A DAY
story by Lynn Lofton
The Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce wants visitors to have great experiences when they visit South Mississippi. That’s why they initiated a Tourist for a Day tour for members who are frontline workers in the hospitality industry. Tours are offered four times a year at no charge to a maximum of 18 people and have a $100 value.
“The tours started a few years before Hurricane Katrina to educate our frontline hospitality employees about all the great attractions we have to offer visitors, as well as the history of our area,” said the chamber’s Executive Director Tina Ross-Seamans. “The tours were put on hold after Katrina until 2009.”
There are two tours in the spring and two in the fall featuring different itineraries with an effort to include
new attractions and showcase different attractions. “Sometimes we have a theme; last year we visited the West End Hose Co. and the lunch was firehouse chili from the Fillin’ Station,” Ross-Seamans said. “When we went to the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, we served shrimp and grits from Le Café Beignet for lunch.”
photos courtesy of Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce
The most recent tour included the Biloxi Lighthouse
and Visitors Center, Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, a presentation from Ship Island Excursions, Chandeleur Brewing Company, Beauvoir, and St. Michael Catholic Church. Lunch was provided by Murky Waters BBQ in Gulfport. There was also a ‘windshield tour’ of downtown Biloxi and the Katrina Memorial.
Star Ransonet, first vice president, Gulf Coast Division
of BancorpSouth, went on the tour in May. “What a great day on the tour! Not only did I learn and get updates on our tourist attractions, I met some really nice people and business professionals,” she said. “I encourage everyone to be a tourist in their own city, not just to re-discover your roots but to show visitors and family what the Coast has to offer.”
The chamber includes evaluation forms in participants’ packets. “Their response is always Excellent,” Ross- Seamans said. “Everyone loves the tours. Even if they have lived here all their lives, they learn something new.”
76 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • July 2015
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