Our View: Tourism deserves its own department

Published 9:57 am Thursday, January 22, 2026

Tourism is big business in Mississippi. In fact, it’s the fourth largest industry in the state.

In 2024, the most recent data available, the industry generated an economic impact of more than $18 billion and added $1.1 billion to state and local government tax collections, according to the Mississippi Tourism Association. Tourism impacts every corner of the state, even some of our most rural places such as Jefferson Davis or Smith counties, where the industry saw $9.4 million and $11 million in 2024 spending respectively.

While the data shows Tourism is one of the Magnolia State’s heaviest hitters, both in revenue generation and job creation, there is no state agency to support the state’s tourism efforts. Visit Mississippi, the state’s tourism arm, is under the umbrella of the Mississippi Development Authority, which leads economic and community development efforts throughout the state.

MDA works with industries, local elected officials and business leaders to bring new or expanding businesses to the Magnolia State. Doing so brings jobs for Mississippi workers, revenue for Mississippi towns and futures for Mississippi children. The organization also tackles workforce development through its Accelerate Mississippi arm, with which it works with community colleges, businesses and schools to implement programs preparing students for jobs in their communities.

MDA does a lot, and anyone paying attention to the news over the past year has seen its handiwork on full display. Mississippi has seen billions of dollars in data center investments in the Jackson area, Southhaven and here in Meridian. In December, Meridian Footwear unveiled a prototype boot designed by students from Northeast Lauderdale High School under a workforce development program through Meridian Community College.

Both tourism and MDA make an impact in our community and in communities throughout the state every day.

During the 2025 Legislative Session, tourism officials lobbied the State Legislature to split the state’s tourism arm off MDA and make it a standalone agency. That legislation did not make it through the bureaucratic gauntlet, but another attempt in the current 2026 Legislative Session was announced earlier this month.

Mississippi needs tourism, and it needs economic development. More than that, it needs both efforts functioning at peak capacity and without the risk of inadvertently draining resources from each other.

And with more than 44 million people visiting the state each year, it’s not hard to say tourism deserves its own department.