New Campaign Celebrates the People, Experiences of Texas

What do you like about Texas? That’s the question the Texas Travel Industry Association wants the public to answer in the spirit of country artist Gary P. Nunn’s song “What I Like About Texas.”

TTIA’s “What I Like About Texas” campaign  (opens in a new tab) highlights “the pride that Texans have for what they do, where they live, and who they are,” said Chief Operating Officer Daniel Decker. “That includes a number of people from different experiences and cultures and lifestyles throughout the state of Texas. So the campaign really seeks to focus on sharing those experiences, those memories, and those stories.”

The campaign kicked off last Friday with an afternoon event at the Texas State Capitol, featuring a performance by Nunn that included the song the campaign is named after. “We felt that song embodied a lot of what we wanted to share, which was people sharing their stories and their experiences,” Decker said.

Throughout the summer, TTIA will share videos and testimonials from well-known Texans on its website and social media channels and is inviting the public to share their own Texas experiences online using #WhatILikeAboutTexas to highlight local activities, destinations, and cultures for visitors.

“There’s so much to brag about in Texas, although as we know, it ain’t bragging if it’s true,” President and CEO David Teel said in a press release  (opens in a new tab). “And when we started looking at things to celebrate about Texas for this campaign, we knew we couldn’t do it without celebrating the people of this state, right along with its other numerous attractions. That made us realize that visitors, from both within and outside of Texas, can get the best welcome to our state through ideas and experiences about Texas, from Texans—all types of Texans.”

In addition, the campaign gives TTIA members an opportunity to share their stories and help boost their industry. It is sponsored by partner companies and members Visit Houston, Visit San Antonio, Discover Denton, Port Royal Resort, and the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Back in the days of the legendary, albeit fictional, J.R. Ewing, Texas presented outsiders with a mystique—a curious glamour that beckoned to those both in and outside its borders,” Board Chair Jim Brothers said in the statement. “Once they visited, they saw beyond the ‘Dallas’ estate and embraced the open spaces, cuisine, music, sports, the arts, and an outdoors offering something to everyone. We at TTIA want to rekindle that intrigue by highlighting diverse individual moments, opinions, and memories that remind people why the Lone Star State offers a uniquely welcoming visitor experience, and entice travelers to sample those moments highlighted in our campaign—moments that come from people as ordinary and extraordinary as them, as well as from those that seem legendary.”

TTIA COO Daniel Decker, shown speaking at an event at the Texas capitol. (Handout photo)