Tulsa tourism has a new face.
Tulsa Metro Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal announced last month the selection of Dave Nolan as the new senior VP of VisitTulsa, the Chamber’s convention and visitors program.
Nolan has more than 30 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry, including posts as president and CEO at convention and visitors bureaus in Toledo, Ohio; Cleveland; and Milwaukee.
The Tulsa Business Journal recently sat down with Nolan to hear his plans for Tulsa tourism.
“Ultimately, like all businesses, you want to dominate the market,” he said. “So, as we compete for meetings, events and leisure business, we want to be the key destination.”
Nolan said in order to dominate the market, Tulsa has to convince consumers it is the place to visit for a tourism experience in addition to the meeting or trade show.
“When we do that, we create revenue, which is synonymous with jobs,” he said.
Nolan said Tulsa has the elements to succeed at that goal; they just need to be brought together.
“We need to have a strategic plan and get going in the same direction,” he said. “My role will be to act as a consensus builder.”
Nolan said the first ingredient in creating a top tourist destination is vision on the part of citizens and city leaders alike.
“Tulsa has the vision to become one of the great renaissance stories in America, as measured by a new baseball stadium, the expansion of a convention center, the renovation of Expo Square, the BOK Center and the commitment the arts community is making in development and attracting the best talent,” he said. “When you have resources plus vision, that should equal revenue and market growth.”
The second step is creating a strong brand as a city, he said.
“Once you’ve determined your brand and your unique points of difference, you can expect things to happen,” Nolan said. “The combination of big-time marquis events in the entertainment or sports arena and niche experiences — what’s new, interesting and authentic — communicates that this is special. Tulsa offers all of that.”
Next, he said, is letting people know.
“The next step is, how are we going to raise revenue so that we can begin to broadcast it?” he said. “You have to be able to create demand.”
The answer, he said, is a one-two punch of cultivating civic pride and complementing it with a constant barrage of media messaging.
“We have to get the public to buy into the program,” he said. “It is so important that people are waving the Tulsa flag and saying, ‘I like the city in which I live and think you should come visit.’ Visiting friends and relatives are the No. 1 driver of tourism in this region.”
