VanLandingham said there is little debate of whether Oklahoma should increase its footprint in the film industry. It has already been demonstrated what kind of economic impact the film industry can have on the state and the communities where those films or TV shows have been shot. The film production companies that receive incentive funding create thousands of jobs across the state and pump millions of dollars into the Oklahoma economy for things such as hotel stays, retail purchases, dry cleaning, catering, set construction, travel, studio rentals and much more. Another pressing priority for the Chamber during the 2023 legislative session is raising the cap of the Oklahoma Tourism Development Act, which is designed to generate growth within the state’s tourism industry by providing limited sales tax rebates for projects where at least 25% of that site’s revenue comes from out-of-state visitors. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is working with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Tulsa Regional Chamber and other economic development organizations to raise the cap to $30 million from its
current $15 million cap so that more tourism projects can be developed not only in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but all areas of the state. “This incentive is important to Oklahoma City, but also offers substantial opportunity for development in rural Oklahoma, which is important to everyone,” VanLandingham said. Tourism has become Oklahoma’s third-largest industry and continues to grow rapidly. In 2021, a record-breaking $10.1 billion in direct visitor spending in Oklahoma was generated with $748 million paid in state and local taxes that year. A recent report by Tourism Economics found that visitors to Oklahoma City generated a total economic impact of $3.8 billion in 2021. The industry generated nearly 31,600 jobs and contributed $311 million in state and local taxes. The Oklahoma Tourism Development Act has been a critical financing component for several projects in Oklahoma City, VanLandingham said, including the First National Center, 21C Hotel and the OAK development in northwest OKC.
The OAK development near Penn Square Mall is being built with assistance from the Oklahoma Tourism Development Act.
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