Tourism Taskforce

[Conan71]

I would say "Route 66, The Mother Road" by Tulsa's own Michael Wallis. When they made the movie "Cars", which is based on Route 66, Michael Wallis is who they used as a consultant.

Another important read for "roadologists" is "Route 66: The Highway & It's People, by Quinta Scott & Susan Croce Kelly.  It pre-dates Wallis' book by a year or two. 

http://www.amazon.com/Route-66-Highway-Its-People/dp/0806122919

I first met Michael Wallis after he had published the biography of Frank Phillips (which still ranks as one of my favorite all-time reads) as he was working on his Route 66 book.  The cool thing about him is the book was more about his passion for the road and the colorful personalities along it than it ever was about making money for him.

[carltonplace]

It's the standard 5 year branding dance around reality.

"Tulsa - We're friendly pardner (maybe too friendly)"
"Come to Tulsa! Bring your car!"
"Tulsa! We have hills!"
"Tulsa, lets us edumacate ur chilrens ya'll"
"Come to Tulsa, create a crowd"
"Wow, look at our tall building"
"come get some meth, we're cooking it fresh"

[RecycleMichael]

"Tulsa - We're friendly pardner (maybe too friendly)"
But not unless your partner is of the other sex.

"Come to Tulsa! Bring your car!"
Or buy a car from one of our hundred car lots on Route 66

"Tulsa! We have hills!"
There is even a new one made with trash just north of downtown.

"Tulsa, lets us edumacate ur chilrens ya'll"
We have 13 public school districts in Tulsa County alone.

"Come to Tulsa, create a crowd"
...and watch football...

"Wow, look at our tall building"
You can park next door

"come get some meth, we're cooking it fresh"
buy local

[carltonplace]

"come get some meth, we're cooking it fresh"
buy local

Good one

[we vs us]

What was enlightening to me was finding out that we have competitive attractions and overall a really good product to sell, but that we're just not selling it.  Everyone in my business locally has a story about how that's not happening but it's nice to hear that the problems we've perceived are actually true. 

I think our TulsaNow bias is towards building something new (which I share!) or adding something new to the portofolio (the Pontiac Museum, for instance) in the hopes that simply a big pile of stuff will translate into an nicely ordered brand.  But in this case what we're actually lacking is the stuff we're most loathe to fund, which is government infrastructure.  And not roads or rail, but actual people and departments and budgets to be spent on frou-frou things like "marketing." 

[Conan71]

What was enlightening to me was finding out that we have competitive attractions and overall a really good product to sell, but that we're just not selling it.  Everyone in my business locally has a story about how that's not happening but it's nice to hear that the problems we've perceived are actually true. 

I think our TulsaNow bias is towards building something new (which I share!) or adding something new to the portofolio (the Pontiac Museum, for instance) in the hopes that simply a big pile of stuff will translate into an nicely ordered brand.  But in this case what we're actually lacking is the stuff we're most loathe to fund, which is government infrastructure.  And not roads or rail, but actual people and departments and budgets to be spent on frou-frou things like "marketing." 

What puzzles me is we have this award-winning (multi-time even) Chamber of Commerce which gets millions every year in hotel/motel taxes to ostensibly market the city.  What kind of ROI are we getting?  Sounds like zilch to me. 

And people wonder why so many of us hold the TMC in such high contempt.

[we vs us]

What puzzles me is we have this award-winning (multi-time even) Chamber of Commerce which gets millions every year in hotel/motel taxes to ostensibly market the city.  What kind of ROI are we getting?  Sounds like zilch to me. 

And people wonder why so many of us hold the TMC in such high contempt.

The CVB-Metro Chamber relationship is not common, and destination marketing isn't considered a core mission of the Chamber . . . which is why they can be award-winning in other areas but still fall short in supporting the CVB.  In fact that's one of the big raging debates going on right now:  let the CVB run its own shop or keep it under Chamber mgmt.  The KPMG study that came out last year was scathing about CVB-Chamber arrangement and suggested it be terminated immediately, but the current consultants haven't come out on either side of the issue.

[Conan71]

The CVB-Metro Chamber relationship is not common, and destination marketing isn't considered a core mission of the Chamber . . . which is why they can be award-winning in other areas but still fall short in supporting the CVB.  In fact that's one of the big raging debates going on right now:  let the CVB run its own shop or keep it under Chamber mgmt.  The KPMG study that came out last year was scathing about CVB-Chamber arrangement and suggested it be terminated immediately, but the current consultants haven't come out on either side of the issue.

Who is paying for the current consultants?  That might have something to do with it.

[we vs us]

Who is paying for the current consultants?  That might have something to do with it.

The city, I think . . . co-funded by the THLA (Tulsa Hotel and Lodging Association).

[DTowner]

The city, I think . . . co-funded by the THLA (Tulsa Hotel and Lodging Association).

That's encouraging because I can't believe the hotel and lodging assoc. thinks it's getting its moneys worth under the current arrangement.

I'm amazed at how many ads run in Tulsa for Springfield, MO and Fantastic Caverns (I grew up in Springfiled, trust me, those caverns are not fantastic).  Yet when I'm in Springfield I never see ads for Tulsa or even Oklahoma.  In fact, the only place I ever see ads for Oklahoma is in Oklaoma.  I get the idea of keeping tourist dollars home, but come on.

[Townsend]

That's encouraging because I can't believe the hotel and lodging assoc. thinks it's getting its moneys worth under the current arrangement.

If I knew any of them, I'd ask.

http://www.tulsahotels.org/board-of-directors/

[we vs us]

If I knew any of them, I'd ask.

http://www.tulsahotels.org/board-of-directors/

I do, and I have.  And yeah, generally quite unhappy. Hence the study.

[Truman]

For what it's worth.

Makes perfect sense to create a "Quiet Zone" for the business owners DT and then allow the "Mortar shells" and "Rocket Launchers" to ramp up.

That is exactly what it sounds like.

If you are in a business DT enjoying a $100.+ dinner nothing like shell shock and the sound of explosions to cap off the evening.

It boils down to, the trains are a peaceful sound. Loud but peaceful.
An explosion is never a peaceful sound.

Try explaining to a visitor, to Tulsa, that your City is so sensitive to the people visiting the entertainment District, that it did away with the annoying sound of trains in lieu of the sound of bombs.

[we vs us]

Try explaining to a visitor, to Tulsa, that your City is so sensitive to the people visiting the entertainment District, that it did away with the annoying sound of trains in lieu of the sound of bombs.

what

[Hoss]

what

i thought the same...