Tourism has become a growing sector of Oklahoma's economy. Domestic travelers spent $3.8 billion on overnight and day trips in 2000, a 5.2% increase over 1999. The travel industry employed over 71,700 people in the same year.
Oklahoma's 45 state parks and recreational areas draw some 16 million visitors annually. The national park service maintains one facility in Oklahoma—Chickasaw National Recreation Area, centering on artificial Lake Arbuckle.
The state also maintains and operates the American Indian Hall of Fame, in Anadarko; Black Kettle Museum, in Cheyenne; the T. B. Ferguson Home in Watonga; the Murrell Home, south of Tahlequah; the Pawnee Bill Museum, in Pawnee; the Pioneer Woman Statue and Museum, in Ponca City; the Chisholm Trail Museum, in Kingfisher; and the Western Trails Museum, in Clinton.
National wildlife refuges include Optima, Salt Plains, Sequoyah, Tishomingo, Washita, and Wichita Mountains; they have a combined area of 140,696 acres (56,938 hectares).