.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} It’s always interesting to see what other mid-sized cities are up to, and we’re impressed by the tourism efforts down in Tulsa, Okla.

This summer, its convention and visitors bureau unveiled a new tourism campaign that includes a revamped Web site, www.visit

tulsa.com, and lots of printed material: 10,000 brochures on what to do downtown, 150,000 coupon fliers and 50,000 rack fliers. The campaign’s slogan is “I am,” which makes more sense when linked to a local attraction. For example, a billboard on Interstate 244 announces, “I am 50 miles of river trails; find me in Tulsa.”

Go to the Web site sometime. You’ll be impressed by its appearance, its convenience and the information it contains.

According to the Tulsa Business Journal, “the rebranding campaign also includes materials placed near, at or in connection to the Aug. 6-12 89th PGA Championship, including posters, 30,000 luggage tags (and) event calendars.”

The city also held three two-hour training sessions for 135 taxi and limousine drivers, qualifying them to carry passengers during the PGA tournament.

When departing visitors go through the airport, they see another Web site address, www.visittulsaagain.com – which actually will take them to the same site as the address mentioned above.

Tulsa is the kind of place that easily slips under the tourism radar, but it’s actually twice the size of Des Moines. The city’s population is about 383,000 and the metro-wide total is 898,000.

Are we praising Tulsa as a way of criticizing the tourism efforts on behalf of Greater Des Moines? Not at all. Packaging and promotion keep getting better here, too. But everyone involved with promoting Central Iowa – including business travelers – should pay attention to what other cities are doing and bring the best ideas home.

Those are souvenirs we all can enjoy.