Oklahoma City is a welcoming destination that offers all the culture, cuisine, attractions and amenities you’d expect a vibrant city to have. And while Oklahoma may be known as a “bible belt” state, it’s also got a reputation for being friendly and the latter wins visitors over from far and wide. With 12 districts in the hub of the city, there’s plenty of to see and do. LGBT travelers will find a thriving arts scene, exciting outdoor recreation, plenty of nightlife and annual events including the Great Plains Rodeo and the OKC Pride Parade which brings in over 75,000 attendees each year.
The past two years, the Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau (OKC CVB) has dedicated sales staff focused on extending their Oklahoma welcome to the LGBT market by being a member and attending IGLTA’s convention. This September, the OKC CVB will be the host city for the National Equality Media Alliance where 40 plus attendees representing regional publications focused on the gay community will experience Oklahoma City. “This is a market that we hadn’t yet tapped into,” says vice president of sales for the OKC CVB, Dennis Johnston. “We have such a diverse community with an entire neighborhood that caters to the LGBT crowd, yet a city so diverse that they’d feel welcome anywhere,” says Johnston.
Locally, the OKC CVB has invested in their local newspaper, the Gayly, and has become an integral part of the OKC PRIDE Festival and Parade.
Later this year the OKC CVB is extending their efforts in the LGBT space by working with Joey Amato, founder of Agency33 Public Relations/Pride Journeys to coordinate an LGBT press trip with several top-tier publications this fall. The CVB will coordinate once-in-a-lifetime experiences for this group, showing off what makes Oklahoma City a welcoming city as well as several mixers for the media to mingle with diversity leaders in the community.
For more information on Oklahoma City, visit www.VisitOKC.com.