Now here’s something I didn’t expect. Although the public memory of Oklahoma humorist Will Rogers has been fading for decades, attendance at his birthplace ranch near Oologah and at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in the Route 66 town of Claremore has been rising in the past year, reported The Oklahoman.
Officials think the increase can be attributed to being more aggressive in promoting the museum, special events and working with tour groups, Reeder said. But there are others.
“A number of our visitors are traveling Route 66,” said Steve Gragert, director of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. “It is not unusual for visitors to tell us this is the best museum they have visited, ranking it with presidential libraries, often calling it a ‘world class’ museum.”
I think the downturn in the economy also has induced people to travel closer to home. I’ve been hearing anecdotal evidence that “staycation” tourism is up this year, and here’s more evidence to support that theory.