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Takeaways from the Oklahoma Conference on Tourism

  • 3 min read

Another VERY informative Conference on Tourism put on by the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association. I heard many co-conference attendees exclaim, “Information Overload!” Great appreciation to Debra Bailey and the Board for putting together such a great day of education. So what were the key takeaways? Mobile, Content and Customer Service. Let’s break them down… Mobile – The data shared by Santiago Jaramillo should not be surprising: There are more smart phones purchased each year than babies born. 60% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. 2 of 3 consumers are less likely to engage further with a brand if they have a poor experience with… 

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Tourism Industry Undervalued – Needs Repect

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At a recent town hall meeting, Oklahoma Lt. Governor Todd Lamb made a pretty good case that the tourism industry is one of, if not the most undervalued industry. “Few grasp the tourism industry’s impact on Oklahoma. They don’t realize U.S. travelers spend $7.2 billion in Oklahoma in 2012 or tourism generated $385.3 million in state taxes – the third largest revenue stream in state government – and $188.5 million in local taxes that year.” Beyond the numbers are all of the issues destination marketing professionals have to deal with. I recently spoke to a Chamber Leadership Class about issues related to tourism. After I shared… 

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The Fifth P of Destination Marketing

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A colleague at a recent tourism function was sharing how her DMO was getting in a “turf war” between the City and the Chamber – both trying to take over the management of the organization. She concluded by sharing ‘I’m staying out of it. I’m not in politics.’ A few of the glancing looks from others at the table communicated that we were thinking the same thing, “Oh yes you are like it or not!”  (And you’d better engage now or you may find yourself in a place you aren’t going to like!) I thought going from a DMO to an attraction I would find… 

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