The Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau and Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation thanks Australian travel trade & media at Sydney and Melbourne industry events
Grapevine, Texas along with Travel Oklahoma and their delegates have travelled to Australia for one of the first in market USA dedicated sales missions of 2022.
Lunch events were well attended in Sydney and Melbourne where trade and media learnt more about Grapevine and Oklahoma and what’s new in each area. Australian media and trade were treated to a live performance from Choctaw/Chickasaw native and ‘Men’s Fancy Dance’ world champion dancer Michael Roberts and his wife, Puebloan native Rebecca Roberts. The couple performed cultural dances in traditional regalia and spoke about the history of the Native Americans and the rich native culture of Oklahoma. Having 39 tribal headquarters within the state itself, the Native American culture in Oklahoma has a powerful influence and presence which appeals to Aussie visitors.
With the relaunch of the Qantas flights from Sydney and Melbourne direct to DFW, the timing of this mission has been even more significant. Grapevine, Texas is only 10 minutes away from DFW giving Aussies direct access to be able to base themselves in Grapevine and explore the area including Dallas and Fort Worth before renting a car to drive to Oklahoma to explore Route 66 and more.
Heather Egan Director of Leisure and International Sales from Grapevine, Texas is looking forward to hosting key media to the 36th annual GrapeFest in September. GrapeFest is the largest wine festival of the Southwest and boasts the largest consumer-judged wine competition in the nation. At the same time Heather Egan will be taking Australian rocks painted by New Zealand and Australian trade and media partners from their event in 2021, to place them in the international section of the Grapevine Rock Art Trail. The Rock Art Trail has earned a Guinness World Record title for the largest display of painted rocks.
Oklahoma – Australia has a long history of travelling to the United States for holidays as Aussies love to experience unique local culture and explore the great outdoors. Oklahoma has both touch points for Australian holiday makers and what an impact the Oklahoma mission has had so far in Sydney and Melbourne.
Australians are keen road-trippers and the region offers many multistate itineraries to choose from. Of course, there’s the famous Route 66 of which Oklahoma has the largest stretch of road on the legendary route and is home to many of the renown pitstops and signs to snap for the gram! The music scene is also a big drawcard and is another connection to Grapevine Texas, as many of today’s country music stars were born, raised and inspired by the region. The new Bob Dylan Center which opened in Tulsa recently is just one of many unique music experiences not to be missed in Oklahoma.
Lisa Weigt, Director of Oklahoma Tourism along with Carolyn Nightingale, the Australian Account Manager for Travel Oklahoma, presented Oklahoma to a captivated audience and inspired many new travel stories and itineraries.