Leadership notes: Investments in ourselves via visitor economy coming to fruition

Photo: Steve Johnson

The pandemic affected nearly every industry sector worldwide. While some are obviously still struggling, one that is on the rebound locally is our visitor economy. And the benefits our economy is deriving from this activity are due to the investments we’ve made over the years that are attracting people and economic activity in this increasingly important sector.

Tourism is generally considered a “pure” economic development activity because it brings money into the community that stays and gets recirculated and reinvested here, while relatively few services are necessary to be provided versus that of a resident.

While the latest numbers are still being analyzed, we know that hotel tax collections received in fiscal year 2022 totaled more than $6 million, a 20.7% increase over projections, on the strength of 391,560 total room nights from definite bookings through 188 serviced events. The 2021 fiscal year report showed estimated direct spending of $259 million from visitors, including equine events that generated more than $127 million. That’s a lot of economic activity, and the fiscal year that just ended promises an even bigger tally. The money that is injected into our economy via our visitor sector represents wages, jobs, growth, quality of life amenities and enhanced services for our community.

How did we get here?

The simple fact is we create a place people want to visit when we invest in ourselves in ways that make OKC a great place to live, work and play. Along with community spirit and working together, the benefits of this approach have been key and a major driver of our success over the last 25-plus years, and with planned investments in Okana, the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds and more, that success will continue to grow.

Sincerely,

Roy H. Williams, CCE
Chamber CEO & President

This story originally appeared in the August 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.