The Tulsa Regional Chamber last week completed its 2023 Intercity Visit, the 14th in an annual series of visits to peer cities to learn best practices and hear success stories. This year’s destination was Austin, Texas.

More than 100 attendees from across northeast Oklahoma – including Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and other city and county elected officials, business leaders, regional partners, education administrators and young professionals – participated in the three-day event, which ran Oct. 2-4.

Previous Intercity Visits to cities such as Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Denver have featured in-depth looks at topics ranging from river development and tourism to health living initiatives and the arts. This year’s trip to Austin covered a variety of topics, including regionalism, tourism, downtown development, homelessness and workforce and talent.

“Austin has experienced tremendous growth during the past decade,” says Jennifer Jezek, chair-elect of the Tulsa Regional Chamber and the vice president and Oklahoma division manager for VSC Fire and Security. “Along with that growth, however, have come some growing pains, and during this trip we explored both the opportunities and challenges that come with growth.”

This year’s trip featured dialogues with a variety of community leaders, including those responsible for economic development and tourism promotion. Attendees visited a number of marquee venues, including the Austin Public Library, the Moody Center and Q2 Stadium, home to Austin FC.

In addition to hearing from business leaders and subject matter experts, Intercity Visits also afford attendees invaluable opportunities to build relationships with others from around northeast Oklahoma, and to have conversations that otherwise might not happen.

“Intercity Visits provide great opportunities to gather insights and inspiration from cities facing situations similar to our own,” says Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. “Often, these trips inspire dialogues that ultimately led to real change back home in Tulsa. The Vision Tulsa and Improve Our Tulsa funding packages had made actionable some of the possibilities identified during these visits.”

Past Intercity Visits have gone to Denver (2022); northwest Arkansas (2021); Omaha and other cities virtually (2020); Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2019); Columbus, Ohio (2018); Fort Worth (2017); Cincinnati (2016); Nashville (2015); Portland (2014); Pittsburgh (2013); Charlotte (2012); Indianapolis (2011); and Louisville (2010).

To read more about the key takeaways from past trips, click here.