NBA may bring more visitors

Securing an NBA team may have put Oklahoma on the national map, and now the state’s tourism industry needs to keep its efforts strong to promote the state, officials say.

"The Thunder will propel the state’s image on a national and international level,” said Hardy Watkins, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism.

Watkins spoke Monday morning as part of the Governor’s Conference on Tourism. The conference, which highlights the state’s third largest industry, runs through today and includes speakers on marketing destinations and presenters on Oklahoma’s growing agritourism business.

Oklahoma’s tourist economy generates nearly 73,000 jobs statewide and the interest doesn’t seem to be slowing down, said Natalie Shirley, commerce and tourism cabinet secretary.

A call to action

In the past year, the Tourism Department’s call center took about 25,000 calls from people wanting information about visiting Oklahoma. The center has answered 2,000 e-mails and processed 77,000 brochure orders. The marketing campaign has also been successful in reaching international visitors.

Watkins said the center received information requests from 20 to 30 countries a month. International visitors are a growing group. The state’s marketing campaign is targeted at travelers from Britain and German-speaking Europeans, Watkins said. On average those travelers stay in Oklahoma 15 days and spend about $3,000 per visit.

"The come here because they know it’s a great vacation, and they want to experience real America,” Watkins said.