Lauderdale County sees a steady stream of visitors throughout the year as people travel for events, businesses and athletic events, Lauderdale County Tourism Commissioners were told Thursday.
Berkeley Young of Young Strategies, which was tapped by Visit Meridian to create a strategic plan for the county’s tourism arm, said the organization is already off to a good start. Meridian and Lauderdale County already have a solid reputation as a travel destination that is known for its arts and culture institutions. Performance venues such as the MSU Riley Center and Temple Theater, along with attractions such as the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience and the Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian, are assets coveted by much larger communities.
“Overall conclusion is that we have a consistent trend line, that you’ve got great pride of place, that the leaders show great pride in Meridian, you’re a successful travel destination attracting a good mix of leisure, group and business travelers, and sports are in that group,” he said.
Young said a survey of visitors found people were drawn to Lauderdale County because of the friendly, welcoming people, culinary offerings, downtown charm, history and cultural attractions, natural beauty and ease of getting around. The survey found visitors overwhelmingly thought positively of their time in the Queen City.
Among the dislikes cited by visitors are limited dining options late at night and on Sunday, the city’s unusual road layout, safety concerns in some areas of the city, limited family-friendly nightlife and entertainment, cleanliness and maintenance and a lack of public transit such as Uber and Lift. Young said the spotty rideshare ability is a drawback as most of the area hotels are located near the interstate while much of the entertainment venues, restaurants and attractions are located downtown.
Looking at hotel occupancy data, Young said Lauderdale County is building new hotels, but the demand for rooms is going up faster than they are being built. When looking at ways to bring more people to the area, coordinating with hotels is critical to make sure there are places for people to stay.
From June 2024 to July 2025, Lauderdale County hotels were 60% full on 230 nights, or 63% of the year. Monthly occupancy rates hit a low in December 2024 at 56%. November and December are usually low for hotels, Young said, but rates are typically much lower at around 20%.
“Your market is performing very, very well,” he said.
While many communities explore convention centers or other large meeting spaces to increase tourism, Young said that approach may not be the best route for Meridian and Lauderdale County. Large groups like to stay in the same hotel, which is hard to do if most of the local hotels are already more than half full. Alternatively, sports tournaments also bring crowds, but individual teams and families are usually fine staying at different hotels, he said.
“If you have a hundred room Hampton Inn that runs 60% occupancy, that means there’s 40 rooms left that they can work with,” he said. “They can take a few teams at any time, but they can do what we call run of the house.”
According to the strategic plan, strategies Visit Meridian can use to further grow the area’s visitor base include increasing the number of visitors who stay overnight, protecting and expanding the number of group businesses and meetings coming to Meridian, advancing sports tourism, working other improve the overall visitor experience through advocacy and cooperation with community partners and leading as a destination management organization.
Lauderdale County is in a good position with its visitor base and is poised to make even further advances throughout the next few years. Working together as city, county and community organizations to advocate for the area, creating a positive image for local residents and coordinating to give visitors a next-level experience will help move the needle in the right direction.
“From the visitors perspective, it really looks good,” he said, “But there’s big opportunities to keep going.”