Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor said the state’s tourism bureau will be going “all-in” and “doubling down” on promoting Route 66 in the Sooner State.
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who also serves as chairman of the state’s tourism commission, made the remarks this week during a tour of Route 66 sites in Tulsa.
Public Radio Tulsa reported:
“We’re not going to be top 10 in tourism if we’re not promoting one of our greatest assets as a state, and that’s Route 66. We have more miles than any other state of the most famous road in the world. So, we should be doubling down on that,” Pinnell said. […]
“I do not think, at a state level, that we do a proper job of promoting Route 66 to the country and the world, by the way. You know, Texas spends $10 million internationally on their tourism efforts. We don’t spend any money internationally,” Pinnell said.
While additional funding could amplify Tulsa’s own efforts to tap the historic highway’s economic potential, Pinnell said increasing Route 66 tourism will help the entire state, especially with growing interest in agritourism.
“People love the small-town charm. So, if you can get them to Tulsa or you can get them to Oklahoma City, they’ll go to Luther, they’ll go to Miami, they’ll go to Claremore. But you’ve got to get them to some of those urban areas first,” Pinnell said.
The Tulsa World reported:
Pinnell will host a statewide Route 66 convention this December to develop specific plans, including ways to make signage consistent from one side of the state to the other and for every town along the way to reap the benefits, he said.
“Tourism is the front door for economic development,” Pinnell said. “It’s the front door for everything else that we want to do in Oklahoma.” […]
Tulsa is doing a “great job” promoting its section of Route 66, said commission Chairman Rhys Martin. But efforts seem to be lagging across the rest of the state.
“We need to expand the vision and expand the opportunities,” he said, “and take what we are doing in Tulsa and help the smaller towns benefit from it, too.”
Pinnell’s commitment to Route 66 should be commended, but the devil’s in the details. As a person who resided in Oklahoma for almost a decade, I can attest its politicians often promise a lot more than they deliver. And it’s not just an Oklahoma thing; lawmakers under-delivering are rife everywhere.
Talk is cheap. Let’s see whether actions will match up to Pinnell’s words.
(Image of an Oklahoma Route 66 sign in Chandler, Oklahoma, by scott.tanis via Flickr)
How about signing the whole route?