(The Center Square) – Oklahoma is seeing a boon in tourism like never before, according to Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The consistent effort of the Department of Tourism and Recreation “to sell Oklahoma to the world” is paying off, and “the world is listening and choosing to come to Oklahoma,” Stitt said Tuesday.

Over the past two years, there has been a dramatic increase in tourist dollars spent in Oklahoma, catapulting tourism to the third-largest industry in the state.

Stitt attributed the boon to Shelley Zumwalt, who has served as director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. The governor promoted her to Secretary of Tourism on Tuesday, a cabinet-level position formerly held by Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who now serves as Secretary of Workforce Development.

“Tourism is Oklahoma’s unseen powerhouse,” Zumwalt said. “Tourism is bringing in, second to oil and gas, more dollars over our state lines than any other industry. Domestic travelers outside of Oklahoma accounted for 72% of all that visitors spent in 2022, and nearly two-thirds of all travelers to the state, came from outside of Oklahoma.”

An aggressive state parks campaign, coupled with the Route 66 Passport promotion, “has really brought Oklahoma to the world,” state officials said.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Passport, created by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism to encourage visitors from across America the state, is a factor in the increase in visitors.

“Today, over 25% of our visitors come through the doors because of the Oklahoma Route 66 Passport,” said Susan Pordos, the Chandler Route 66 Interpretive Center executive director. “These are visitors from all 50 states, and dozens of countries around the world, some as far away as Japan and New Zealand.”