Tourism

By Renee McKenney, President, Tulsa Regional Tourism

The third largest industry in the state, tourism has never been stronger in Tulsa. With a combination of world class attractions like Philbrook Museum and state-of-the-art Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street history center — along with major sporting events such as the Certified Piedmontese IRONMAN Tulsa and annual USA BMX Grand Nationals — tourism is a significant economic driver for our city. From unique outdoor experiences including the 66acre, $465 million Gathering Place riverfront park and Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area, to cultural meccas like Leon Russell’s Church Studio, the historic Cain’s Ballroom and beyond, Tulsa has something to offer tourists of all ages and backgrounds.

In 2020, 7.2 million people visited Tulsa and spent $800 million, generating a total economic impact of $1.2 billion, according to an annual study by Oxford Economics. Tulsa welcomed 9.4 million visitors in 2021, including 6.2 million day visitors and 3.2 million overnight visitors. These visitors spent $1.2 billion across Tulsa, generating a total economic impact of $1.7 billion, according to Oxford Economics. Local tourism supports more than 14,700 jobs in Tulsa and the $479 million in total income sustained by tourism is the equivalent of $2,900 for every household in Tulsa. Additionally, the state and local taxes sustained by tourism offsets $550 in taxes for each household in our city.

These numbers reflect the hard work of Tulsa Regional Tourism — the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s destination marketing organization — to attract visitors to our city. People are choosing to visit Tulsa in significantly greater numbers during the past decade. And while the COVID-19 pandemic impacted that momentum in 2020, overall visitor spending in 2021 saw a 45% increase over the previous year and was only under 1% lower than 2019. Tulsa’s value as a major tourism destination is back on the rise and that’s been made easier by the increase of visitworthy offerings within our region.

For example, the highly anticipated Bob Dylan Center opened in May 2022, luring fans from around the world and garnering attention from “Condé Nast Traveler,” “Architectural Digest” and