Category: Blog

2023 Destination Capitol Hill

Posted on by TIAK

Travel professionals from all over the country converged on Washington, D.C. in April to visit their lawmakers. As shared by TIAK’s President, Melissa Dixon, our “representatives have the means to make real change in our industry. We want to make sure the voices of the travel industry are heard so improvements can be made.”

Several travel industry leaders in Kansas joined Dixon for the trip and received a shout-out from Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS). Dixon went on to share the magnitude of individuals involved in her travel, alone:

“Many individuals made my trip possible: hotel staff, airport maintenance workers, restaurant employees, janitors, shuttle drivers, airline pilots and attendants, air traffic controllers, baggage handlers – I could go on and on!

“The travel industry creates countless service jobs. Vacancies in those jobs hurt the visitor experience and cost our communities millions of dollars in visitor spending. We urged our representatives to act on a few items that could make major strides” including:

  • Provide H-2B Cap Relief
  • Lower Visitor Visa Wait Times
  • Advance FAA Priorities

Welcome new member – Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum

Posted on by TIAK

We are pleased to introduce one of the newest members to TIAK, the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison, Kansas!

The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum honors Earhart’s enduring aviation legacy to defy the odds and pursue her dreams of flight and inspire future generations to imagine their own possibilities. The Museum’s centerpiece is Muriel — the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft — identical to the plane Amelia piloted on her fateful round-the-world flight. Muriel is surrounded by a state-of-the-art series of 14 STEM and historic storytelling exhibits to take visitors through Earhart’s extraordinary life.

The museum is a unique hybrid of both history and STEM science. There are 14 interactive exhibits located in the gallery that highlight curriculum standards in both Kansas and Missouri Elementary and Middle Schools. While the museum is specifically marketed to schools, it will have broad appeal to local, out of state, and international visitors as well.

The Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation, is the governing board and they understand the importance of being engaged in what is going on in the tourism industry and how public policy may affect how the museum operates as an organization. As a private museum, it is necessary to build camaraderie and business connections with fellow organizations, and to stay in the know with current and future public policy.

One of the short-term goals, as this is the inaugural year, is to build an awareness within the travel and tourism community of the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum and its mission. In the future, the museum hopes to become a fully active partner in TIAK to promote its mission and goals.

To learn more about this new and exciting attraction in the Northeast region of Kansas, click here.

NEW Destination Statehouse Opportunity

Posted on by TIAK
From Jim Zaleski
TIAK Advocacy Chair
Hello TIAK friends,
It’s that wonderful 5th season of the year again – political season!
It won’t be the same without our good friend Kevin from Shawnee, but he would have loved this new opportunity being given to us during the evening event at our Destination Statehouse on February 8. The new venue, The Beacon, will not only allow more room and more tables, but it also allows us to bring in our own adult beverages as another way to represent our regions!
There are a few stipulations in place, such as you cannot serve from your own booth. However, the catering agreement allows us to stock the bar with specialty drinks, libations and regionally produced liquors, wines or beers. Simply fill out the registration form and click the yes box that you will bringing a local libation. The TIAK offices will coordinate between those donating to the cause and the caterer to arrange for your special beverage to be offered during the evening event.
This is a great opportunity to showcase some locally made spirits while entertaining our legislative guests. The event is one of the most well-known and best attended legislative events of the year and we look to continue building upon this great tradition. Of course, we encourage you to look at traditional sponsorships since they are what have made this event such an industry-wide affair.
As I mentioned, more space means more booths. We want to welcome our coalitions and specialty groups from across the state to this year’s evening event. Simply register to attend the event and let the TIAK office know you will be needing a table for your group.
Each region will have its own booth as usual and all cities within that region will once again be required to be part of their region. We have extra space, but not enough for every city in the state. Thanks for working within your region for a wonderful cooperative display.
Once we have an idea of the number of tables needed and the space allowed, we will send out a map of the evening event. Set up will start sometime near 3 PM on the day of the event.
Thanks, everyone, for making this event such an ongoing success!

2022 KTC 30 in 30

Posted on by TIAK

Thanks to everyone for participating in the 30 ideas in 30 minutes session at the Kansas Tourism Conference! A lot of great ideas were shared, and a couple even won a prize! We’ve compiled them all, plus a few from the idea box.

  1. Plan event promotions like Hobby Lobby and use website, blog and social media to plan ahead for things like Christmas. (Julie / Visit Abilene)
  2. Use AlphaMac to help with your marketing materials and data; it’s $2,500 per year, helps in an easy-to-read manner, and worth every penny. (Jim / City of Parsons)
  3. Beat the heat with Christmas in July—music, shopping and bubbles instead of snow. (Holly / Visit Lindsborg)
  4. Create postcards with local artists and then share with businesses to help promote your community. (Holly / Visit Lindsborg)
  5. Create a fun opportunity for kids with a candy vending machine for only one penny. (Holly / Visit Lindsborg)
  6. Get temporary tattoos for your trade shows–all you need is a spray bottle and some paper towels and then you have walking billboards of kids with your logo all over them. (Holly / Visit Lindsborg)
  7. Highway 36 had the best pie contest for each county. Don’t be afraid to do the best burger, best soup or beyond. It’s great publicity and promotion for your restaurants. (Kylee / Seneca)
  8. If you have two attractions that could connect, print vinyl banners and exchange to cross-promote each other. For example, our museum placed a banner at the waterpark this summer and vice versa; the CVB paid for the banners and it’s a dual promotion. (Melissa / Hays)
  9. Recruit and raise awareness of the younger population with field trips to different locations inside your area. You can also use the website sign-up genius as a helpful tool to keep everything organized. (Lucille / Mitchel Co. Tourism)
  10. Our gift shop now sells farm fresh eggs. We also serve food at our meetings and gift people plants for an easy fun freebie. (Susie / Cloud County)
  11. If you’re tired of negativity on social media, share rewarding, positive quotes and giveaway goodie bags from the CVB to those people who respond positively. It doubles as a promotion and an extra reward for followers. (Visit Ark City)
  12. Host influencers and take advantage of the cool equipment they have like this wonderful 360 camera. (Andrea / Explore Lawrence)
  13. For national travel and tourism week we nominated our favorite frontline employees by using a QR code to nominate them. Two winners were awarded, and we’re thrilled too, because now they promote even better information about our community. (Dodge City)
  14. We purchased 10 portable picnic tables with a trailer and rent out for events. It’s easy seating and creates pride. We even have community members pick them up with their own truck; it’s practical and provides community engagement. (Hesston)
  15. We created a scavenger hunt which attracts kids and engages parents to go on a hunt ending at the art center. We give away a postcard or candy to those that finish and it brings in many visitors we would’ve never had otherwise. (Lucas Grassroots Art Center)
  16. We use a project management system called Base Camp; it’s free to sort and create projects and gives notifications and keeps everything all in one place with the app. (Teresa / Wichita Art Museum)
  17. We hid 100 glass blown orbs and hid them in every town in our county over the summer. For visitors to play along, we had them upload images so we could track people hunting; it was popular and different. April / Jackson Co. Tourism Council)
  18. We created a statue trail which highlights all of our attractions in the walking tour in an attempt to help count steps by miles which promoted health and wellness too. (Michelle)
  19. If you’re interested in hosting travel writers but can’t afford them, Colby is looking for contacts all the time and she is free and will include information in the newsletter so feel free to reach out to her with Kansas Tourism.
  20. We did a Kansas day bingo card; we created a bingo sheet and encourage them to go visit a business attraction and put stamps with a box on the outside of such locations. It’s a free option and we gave away prizes to encourage lunch, shopping and exploration of our community. (Kylee / Seneca)
  21. With Kansas now being a sports betting state, don’t forget to use your sports bars and create mini events–all they need is a cell phone and app to create fun sports betting in your Kansas destination. (Alan / Visit Kansas City KS)
  22. We created a 10 parks 10 weeks promotion highlighting a different park each week in Merriam. We created fun park badges and hosted a contest where park visitors could tag us and our promotion, then be entered for a parks prize upon completion; it helped with engagement and gave us some great photography to use in future guides and publications. (Karen / Explore Merriam)
  23. We at our field station didn’t get people to listen to the credentials to earn stamps so we had them name a member and get the kids engaged. Then, as the kids were named out loud, they were welcomed to the team publicly while they were collecting stamps. (Garion / Field Station Dinosaurs)
  24. At Cedar Bluff Reservoir fireworks are not allowed, so we canceled the display and made it a firework-free zone instead celebrating with a parade. This helped to reduce anxiety in veterans and pets (vets and pets), and invited people to come and enjoy this area with no fireworks.
  25. Adding to the sports betting don’t forget to promote and use free Wi-Fi. (Jim / City of Parsons)
  26. As a cross promo with data, don’t forget to use Geo-fencing so you can get a full number of people where they’ve been and where they went by using cell phone data and marketing.
  27. We promote our longest sculpted brick mural by measurements (for example: it is so many Patrick Mahomes to get to the other area). (Susie / Cloud County)
  28. To help build murals, there’s a base grant for seed money and we used a T-shirt project to help fund it which provides money and promotions. (Lucille / Mitchell Co. Tourism)
  29. To prepare for our NHRA nationals, there was an openly gay driver who had no sponsors. So, to promote our pride event we promoted him as a driver and positively share the sponsorship for the LBTQ community. (Sean / Visit Topeka)
  30. We used leftover gift cards for online trivia with pictures and the first person to answer correctly won a gift card. (Ark City)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: DR. NELS LINDBERG

Posted on by TIAK

Registration is open for the 2022 Kansas Tourism Conference (KTC) and organizers are pleased to announce Dr. Nels Lindberg as one of the keynote speakers at this year’s conference!

Dr. Nels Lindberg is a KSU alumni known for his expertise in consulting for the beef and cattle industries, while leading the veterinary practice, Animal Medical Center, in Great Bend, KS. He is also a managing partner in Production Animal Consultation, an international based protein consulting firm that consults over 25% of all the cattle on feed in the United States. In addition to building his reputation as a leader in the veterinary industry, Dr Nels is a sought after public speaker on life, leadership and business. He recently launched his first book, “The Ultimate Real World Guide to Hiring and Firing.”

Dr. Nels will help tourism professionals at the KTC “Build & Lead Better Teams” and explain his leadership passion through hard work, and tactical and strategic partnerships in combination with the challenges of the real world. Dr. Nels is a proud Kansan who has learned through challenges, and is determined to build a wonderful life experience for his family, church and community. You won’t want to miss learning about how the small and big pieces in your team can make a huge impact!

Be sure to register for the Kansas Tourism Conference which works to support tourism professionals in developing opportunities for their communities throughout the state. Register at https://tiak.org/events/kansas-tourism-conference/.

Kansas Destination Specialist reminders

Posted on by TIAK

As the Kansas Tourism Conference approaches, some of you may be thinking about Kansas Destination Specialist (KDS) designation or renewal.

NEW KDS SEEKERS–Here are details you need to know to receive KDS:

1. The deadline for submissions this year is September 16, 2022.

2. Check https://tiak.org/resources/kds/ for the list of how many points you have so you know what you need for completion. If your name is highlighted in red—you are almost there. Just need those book reports. If your name is in green—you are close to having 25 points. Knowing where you are in the process will help you decide if you can make it happen by the deadline.

  1. Anything you have done since last year’s deadline of Sept. 17, 2021 can still be submitted.
  2. All TIAK educational offerings you register for and attend automatically give you points without you needing to complete any follow-up paperwork. Any other educational offering must be submitted on the Education Session Follow-up Form.
  3. There is a recommended book list but it is hard to keep up-to-date with all the new books being published. If you have a book that falls into one of the three categories (Kansas, Leadership, Marketing) and think it is a great option then send me an email (tourism@cityofliberal.org) with a brief synopsis to get it approved for use.

KDS RENEWALS–Here are details you need to know about renewal:

1. Renewals are required on even numbered years.

  1. You must renew even if you just received your designation last year.
  2. Only two of the listed requirements are needed for renewal. If you attended the Kansas Tourism Conference in 2021, then you already have one requirement met. Often people will renew without even trying if they attend the travel industry events such as Destination Statehouse during the year.
  3. If you have not completed your requirements by early August, you will be getting an email to remind you to do so.

If you have a question you do not see covered, email Sally Fuller at tourism@cityofliberal.org or call 620-626-0170. We hope to see you on stage receiving your designation in Wichita!

–Sally Fuller

KDS Chairwoman

KTC FEATURED KEYNOTE: JACKIE STILES

Posted on by TIAK

The KTC (Kansas Tourism Conference) Committee is gearing up for an amazing conference in Wichita this October, and the keynote speakers are ones you won’t want to miss, especially central Kansas native, Jackie Stiles! Kansas knows Jackie from her historical roots in Claflin, KS where she led the county in women’s basketball scoring, then rewrote the NCAA women’s basketball record at Southwest Missouri State, and onto her professional career in the WNBA! Jackie is not only an inspiration to sports lovers, but to anyone who sees value in teamwork, leadership, hard work and passion. She believes in big dreams, enthusiastic effort, and overcoming life’s trials and tribulations with dedication and hope.

Jackie has impacted millions through her love of basketball and coaching, but now she inspires others through camps and professional speaking adventures! You won’t want to miss this women’s basketball Hall of Fame member as she connects with people of all kinds, ages, and all walks of life during Tuesday’s keynote session at the KTC.

Register today for the KTC and learn how Jackie’s legendary work connects to the dedication we have in our own communities and Kansas overall!

Wacky Wichita!

Posted on by TIAK

If you’re heading to Wichita in October for the annual tourism conference, make plans to check out the offbeat and wacky things to see and do! Seen through the eyes and exploration of travel writer Megan Bannister of Olio in Iowa, she loves to find offbeat attractions, and had no trouble finding unusual and wacky fun in Wichita. Learn more about what she discovered in her article, “Offbeat and Unusual Things to do in Wichita.”

Speaking of the tourism conference…

  1. Don’t forget to register for the conference at: https://tiak.org/events/kansas-tourism-conference/registration/
  2. Book your hotel room: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1637706168075&key=GRP&app=resvlink
  3. Submit your marketing entries for the awards ceremony: https://tiak.org/marketing-awards-open-through-august-5th/

TIAK Board Spotlight July 2022

Posted on by TIAK

TIAK BOARD SPOTLIGHT

Our July board member spotlights feature folks from Leavenworth and Lindsborg! Read more below and be sure to say hello at a future TIAK event.

Be sure to check back monthly as we shine the spotlight on other members of the board throughout the year.

Kristi K Lee, Tourism Director – Leavenworth Convention & Visitors Bureau

What do you love most about working in the tourism industry?

You get to meet people from all over the state and travel to their cities to explore and meet. We all share a common interest of promoting our state to others and it brings a lot of comradery to our industry and a willingness to work together for the common good.

Tell us a little fun fact about yourself?

I enjoy going to auction sales and finding something that you really “need”, bidding on it and winning it! LOL

Best tip for a new member of TIAK?

Don’t be afraid to talk to other members and ask questions.

Favorite book, movie, music, food or vacation?

I love to read so my current favorite writer is James Rollins. Mystery and History all rolled into one.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I enjoy doing remodeling projects around my house and watching HGTV.

Holly Lofton, Director – Lindsborg Convention and Visitors Bureau

What do you love most about working in the tourism industry?

Helping people fall in love with Kansas!

Tell us a little fun fact about yourself?

I am a great goat milker, thanks to a stint on the Kansas State Fair Board!

Best tip for a new member of TIAK?

Use TIAK members as a valuable resource! Always reach out for answers to questions! If we don’t know the answer, we most likely know who does!

Favorite book, movie, music, food or vacation?

Out of Africa

Anything else you’d like to share?

We moved to Lindsborg 21 years ago because we loved visiting here. Proof that tourism is also community development!!!

Marketing Awards Open Through August 5th

Posted on by TIAK

It’s time to share your marketing genius!

Do you have what it takes to promote your organization? If so, then plan to enter the TIAK Marketing Award contest!

Our goal is to recognize the outstanding marketing efforts of tourism throughout Kansas. This program is limited to TIAK member organizations only. Also, Coalitions may enter but the Coalition must be a member of TIAK. To enter your marketing campaign, join TIAK today!

The Marketing Awards have been updated to accommodate varying community sizes. Also, Coalitions may enter but the Coalition must be a member of TIAK. Each entry will be broken out according to the organization’s annual marketing budget (NOT project budget) with one winner per overall budget category:

  • Large Community marketing budget (over $100,000)
  • Medium Community marketing budget ($20,000 – $100,000)
  • Small Community marketing budget ($19,999 and under)

The Marketing Awards are focused on overall marketing initiatives and judged on outstanding and innovative efforts. There are no entry fees. Only one submission per organization eligible for entry in each category – no duplicates, please.

Note that all awards are given at the discretion of the judges and judging feedback will be highly encouraged. 

 ENTER YOUR SUBMISSION HERE

Submissions due:
August 5, 2022 at 12 PM 

One winner from each marketing budget category will be announced for each award category below at the Kansas Tourism Conference on October 19, 2022.

Marketing Award categories include:

  • Visitors Guide: In-House Design & Outsourced Design (must be submitted both electronically and in hard-copy to the TIAK office by August 12, 2022)
  • Online Marketing: Digital advertising, social media, e-mail marketing, website
  • Print Marketing: newspaper ads, magazine ads, brochures, direct mail, inserts, anything print
  • Event: various events, meetings or conferences
  • Destination (Community) Awareness: community events, community promotions, etc.
  • People’s Choice: This category is open only to applicants who set up displays at the Conference and will be judged only by those attending the Conference.

Also this year: Best Overall Award. This award will be chosen by the judges from the winners of all the categories (except People’s Choice).

Please contact the marketing award committee members with questions: Allison Calvin (allison@olathe.org).

Best of all, there are NO entry fees! 

Click here for a link to last year’s TIAK Marketing Award Winners.

Thank you to our 2022 Marketing Awards Sponsor: Greensburg Tourism!