Tulsa Regional Tourism Hosts Annual Meeting, Announces Significant Yearly Economic Impact

Tulsa Regional Tourism hosted its 2020 Annual Meeting ‘safely’ in October at the Admiral Twin Drive-In. More than 150 people from Tulsa’s tourism industry attended while munching popcorn in their cars.
Kicking off with a live performance from Tulsa’s leading soul singer and songwriter, Faye Moffett, the presentation then began with the release of the 2019 Economic Impact of Tulsa Tourism report. Adam Sacks with Oxford Economics told attendees via pre-recorded video that in 2019, total visits grew 6 percent year over year, totaling 9.9 million visitors. Visitor spending increased 7.2 percent vs. 2018, with direct spending topping $1.2 billion. Accounting for indirect spend, the total economic impact of visitors to Tulsa was $1.7 billion. Oxford Economics completes this report annually on behalf of Tulsa Regional Tourism and analyzes the impact of the previous year’s visitors on Tulsa’s economy.
“I’m pleased to see these numbers reflect the hard work of our organization to attract visitors to Tulsa”, said Ray Hoyt, president of Tulsa Regional Tourism, after initially seeing the data. “People are choosing to visit Tulsa in significantly greater numbers over the last decade. And while the pandemic has decelerated that momentum in 2020, our team won’t stop selling the future of Tulsa as a major tourism destination.”
Mike Mears, CEO, president and chairman of Magellan Midstream Partners and chairman of the Tulsa Regional Tourism Executive Board, said he knew the 2019 report would be strong, but that he’s been more impressed with the organization’s efforts to offset the havoc the pandemic wreaked on tourism in 2020. “The team really has their work cut out for them. But I can say with confidence, I haven’t seen a group with this much grit in other destination markets. Many have simply thrown in the towel. But Tulsa is making lemonade and stepping up to convert opportunities that can’t be supported in other markets. And those efforts are paying off.” 
The total estimated impact for events booked during the fiscal year was $248.8 million and resulted in 133,719 room nights booked. One hundred and six new events were recruited to Tulsa and 80 events were retained. The Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture also supported 32 productions in the Tulsa area.
Hoyt provided an overview of the three CARES Act grants Tulsa Regional Tourism received this year, resulting in the Tulsa Safely, Play Tulsa Music and Tulsa County Film Recovery programs. The Tulsa Safely video was seen more than 2 million times in the first month of the campaign alone. The County-granted funds were directed to safely stimulate Tulsa County’s drive to market visitors, as well as to aid Tulsa’s film and music industry creatives in getting back to work. 
To show appreciation to the Board of Tulsa County Commissioners for supporting tourism, Hoyt presented the group with one of two awards given out at the event. The Tulsa Inspires Award was presented to County Commissioner Karen Keith, who accepted the award on behalf of the Board. This award recognizes a recipient who brings attention to Tulsa in a new way.
The Dan Harrison Entrada Award recognizes someone who answers the call for help, and routinely offers their time and resources for the greater good of the Tulsa region, according to Tulsa Regional Tourism. Recipient Sue Bunday was awarded for her volunteerism during Tulsa’s largest events in recent years. Cars honked with their applause as the awards were announced.
As the presentation concluded, the film tape started spinning. To close out the evening, Tulsa Regional Tourism invited attendees to remain in their cars for the screening of “The Adventure of A.R.I.: My Robot Friend,” a family-friendly movie shot on location in Tulsa.
The Annual Report highlights and video summary can be viewed at VisitTulsa.com/2020AnnualMeeting.
 
About Tulsa Regional Tourism
Tulsa Regional Tourism is northeast Oklahoma’s premier accredited destination marketing organization. Housed at the Tulsa Regional Chamber, it includes the Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Tulsa Sports Commission, an amateur sports sales and marketing organization; and the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture, an accredited film commission.
Tulsa Regional Tourism assists in attracting 9.9 million annual visitors, creating more than $1.7 billion in total economic impact for the community. The tourism industry supports more than 15,300 local jobs and offsets $590 in taxes for every Tulsa household. Tulsa Regional Tourism leads the community’s bidding for and hosting of signature events like the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the Big 12 Wrestling Championship, USA BMX Grand Nationals, the Arabian Horse Association’s U.S. Nationals and more. 
For more information, visit VisitTulsa.com, TulsaSafely.com and PlayTulsaMusic.com.