Kansas Destination Specialist

The Travel Industry Association of Kansas (TIAK) offers the KANSAS DESTINATION SPECIALIST (KDS) certification program designed to familiarize and further one’s knowledge of the State of Kansas, tourism marketing and leadership.

KDS Point Standings

  • KDS Complete Point List February 2024
  • KDS Designees Renewal Points List February 2024
  • The cutoff to submit your points/forms for this year is September 27, 2024.

Important Documents & Forms

Qualifications for Certification

  • Earn 25 points by attending education conferences, seminars, webinars, trainings, etc. Points accumulate as follows: half point for webinar or seminar; one point for half-day session; two points for full-day session; and three points for two or more days. TIAK events are automatically awarded credit. For all other educational events, candidate must submit the Education Session Follow-up Form (above) within the same year as the event was conducted.
  • Read and complete three book reports – one from each category. Categories include: Kansas, Marketing and Leadership.
  • Visit one Kansas attraction, 50+ miles from home, and submit the visiting attraction form. Earn one point for each attraction.

Qualifications for Renewal

After initial renewal, renewal takes place for all KDS members on every even-numbered year. Failure to renew results in restarting the designation program over again.

Renewing members must complete at least two of the following requirements:

  • Read and complete one book report form (any category).
  • Visit one Kansas attraction, 50+ miles from home, and submit the visiting attraction form.
  • Obtain one education point. The KS Tourism Conference and Day on the Hill count for this requirement automatically. Other education sessions require the education session follow-up form to be submitted.
  • Submit four reports from webinars you participated in using the educational session follow-up form. TIAK webinars automatically count towards this effort.
  • Submit four reports from online articles or industry publications with the appropriate renewal form above.