Visitors to Tulsa increase spending

TULSA — Visitor spending in Tulsa reached $1.1 billion in 2017, a 9.8 percent increase since 2013, an area market analysis shows.

Author of the study was Adam Sacks, founder and president of Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company dedicated to analytically-based consulting to the tourism sector.

He found that the $1.1 billion generated by 9.1 million visitors to Tulsa in 2017 supported $1.5 billion in total business sales; $441 million in total personal income; 14,362 total jobs; and $83 million in state and local taxes.

Visitors supported 4.3 percent of all city employment and offset $518 of tax revenue of every Tulsa household.

“Adam’s in-depth report proves that tourism is vital to the regional economy,” Ray Hoyt, Tulsa Regional Chamber’s senior vice president of tourism, said in a statement. “The data affirms that Tulsa inspires visitors from around the world, and it gives us a solid framework to build upon as we envision the future of tourism in northeast Oklahoma.”

In 2017, the highest share of visitor spending accrued to food and beverages, with $322 million in spending. Visitors also spent $247 million on retail goods and $197 million at lodging establishments.

Tulsa hosted 3.1 million overnight visitors and 6.1 million day visitors in 2017. In total, Tulsa hosted 3.8 million “marketable” visits, meaning those not the result of visiting a friend or relative.