BY JACK CRISS DBJ Executive Editor

In a time when every town and community is busy positioning itself for the tourist dollar, Bill Seratt and the Washington County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has a unique edge in all of the jockeying: The Delta, of course. As executive director of the Washington County CVB, Seratt takes pride in the part of the country he represents. He even marvels at the interests of some of the visitors to the area, noting things most natives take for granted.
“There’s a particular fascination with cotton!” Seratt laughs. “It’s absolutely amazing. A lot of people will just hop in their car and drive to the Delta in order to see what cotton looks like.”
It is the job of Seratt and his staff to insure that, whether it be cotton or any other of the marvelous attractions in the Greenville/Washington County area, the tourists come in droves. And go away happy.
“The most fulfilling part of this job is when people call here and tell us what a wonderful time they had,” Seratt says. “We all here at the CVB take a great deal of pride in projecting the most positive image and attitude of this area that we can.”
Coming from a background in advertising, Seratt and his wife, both Delta natives, moved back home seven years ago. Joining the Washington County CVB in 1996, Seratt put his previous experience to good use. “The CVB was formed nine years ago for the purpose of creating as many tourism-related jobs, and maintaining them, as possible,” he says, also mentioning that image was critical in achieving such a goal. While, as in other areas of the Delta, the work has often been hard, Seratt notes that much success has been achieved.
“As just one example,” Seratt reports, “the hotel inventory in Washington County has more than doubled since the CVB began. Along with this, we’ve seen about a 40% increase in the hospitality industry as well. To me, this demonstrates that our efforts are paying off handsomely.”
Such efforts include targeting certain groups in marketing campaigns. Seratt explains, “We primarily aim for three types of tourist: the general consumer within a 500-mile radius who might drive in for a long weekend; the group tour operators who bring motorcoaches full of people through the area, and the meeting and convention industry.” Seratt says this “aiming” consists in the CVB taking out ads in such magazines as Southern Living and Family Circle, and meeting with others in the hospitality industry one-on-one. The approach obviously works. According to Seratt, in a recent conversion study conducted by Randall Travel Marketing, a little over 50% of those who requested information as a result of this advertising actually visited Greenville and Washington County.
Explaining the make-up of the Washington County CVB, Seratt says that the organization is guided by the Washington County Convention and Visitors Committee, which consists of a nine-member board of members from the Board of Supervisors, the hospitality industries, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Economic Development District. “This committee decides our financial obligations and reviews what events we should best use our money to support,” Seratt says.
“Tourism here is a $50 million dollar industry,” Seratt notes. “We are truly economic developers here, even though we don’t have smokestacks or heavy equipment,” he laughs. “The CVB is a very active part of the economy of Washington County, and we will continue to work hard to bring tourist revenue into our area.”
With talk of a possible Mississippi River museum, additional meeting space, and a state-of-the-art meeting facility in downtown Greenville, the future looks even brighter for the mission of the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “All, or any, of these projects would certainly mean a great deal to our community,” Seratt says. DBJ