Volume 16, Issue 10 | October 2021
TIAK TALK NEWSLETTER
TIAK Talk is published monthly for members of the Travel Industry Association of Kansas.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
By Jim Zaleski
Serving at the Pleasure of the Membership

Wow, time flies. I've had a circle on my calendar around October 18-20 all year, and now we're heading into November. A big thank you needs to go out to Sally and her team at the Liberal CVB for their tremendous hospitality at the 2021 Kansas Tourism Conference.

Looking forward to the upcoming legislative and political season, it's clear that the partnership between TIAK and State Tourism keeps getting stronger and stronger each year. I hope we have another strong turnout at our Destination Statehouse event planned for February 9, 2022 in Topeka. Read more.
THANK YOU!

If you attended the 2021 Kansas Tourism Conference (KTC) in Liberal last week, you know how exciting it was to be back together again, face-to-face, with our tourism colleagues. Thank you to everyone that joined us.

A very special thank you to all of the staff at the Liberal Convention and Visitors Bureau for hosting us and for your hospitality and to our sponsors for your generous support of TIAK and the KTC.

If you weren't able to attend in-person or you'd like to go back and listen to a presentation again, they're available here.

Now we get to look forward to taking the KTC to Wichita in 2022. Click on the video below to get a little preview.
KTC Makes a Difference in Liberal
By Sally Fuller, Liberal CVB

As I sit here at my desk the day following the 2021 Kansas Tourism Conference, I want you all to know how much of an impact you made on my community. Conferences in big cities make an economic impact but are barely noticed among the many other things going on in those locations. In a smaller community like Liberal, an extra 130 plus people in restaurants, retail outlets and at local bars singing karaoke is noticed.

Jan and I had breakfast at the Pancake House Thursday morning and the owner came by the table to thank me for hosting the event and telling me she had several people come in and how good it had been for her business. She also mentioned how complimentary you all were of Liberal and the event.

I delivered a check for locally made salsa, purchased as gifts for the speakers, to a small family-owned deli only open for lunch Monday through Friday and another to a small, employee-owned office supply company where the programs were printed. That business meant a lot to those small companies and I really appreciated our executive team for purchasing local.

A local music store sold 2 microphone stands in one day. I doubt that happens often. The music store is also a family-owned business that sells, rents and services instruments to band students in Liberal and the surrounding area and has done so for over 40 years.

At least one group shopped at two local retail stores, taco trucks had a good Tuesday night and I know of several who were going to Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz before they left on Thursday. I am sure there are businesses who were impacted that I am unaware of but you get the idea.

Your presence was noticed. Your business was appreciated. Your impact went beyond economic. Thank you for coming to Liberal and making a difference.
Roughly 150 TIAK members gather in-person for the 2021 Kansas Tourism Conference in Liberal.
Roger Hrabe from Rooks County Economic Development wins the 2022 Governors Tourism Award.
An elected official panel provides great insight on how to best advocate for tourism at all levels of government.
Attendees receive a tourism update from Tori Barnes with the U.S. Travel Association.
Congratulations Marketing Award Winners
 
The winners of this year’s TIAK Marketing Awards were announced during the 2021 Kansas Tourism Conference in Liberal last week.
 
The winners are chosen annually to recognize excellence in destination marketing initiatives across the state. They are divided into six categories and broken out by the organization’s marketing budget: Large (over $100,000), Medium (20,000 – $100,000), and Small ($19,999 and under).

Click here to learn more about any of the entries below.
 
Visitor Guide (in-house)
Small Budget: Experience El Dorado
Medium Budget: Merriam Visitors Bureau
Large Budget: Visit Topeka
 
Visitor Guide (outsourced)
Medium Budget: Abilene CVB
Large Budget: Visit Kansas City Kansas
 
Online Marketing
Small Budget (tie): Caldwell Chamber of Commerce – Chisholm Trail Fest video and Great Bend CVB – Wetlands Wildlife Virtual Festival
Medium Budget: Merriam Visitors Bureau – New website
Large Budget: Visit Kansas City Kansas – KCK Taco Trail
 
Event
Small Budget: Wild West Country – Rooster Roundup
Medium Budget: Abilene CVB – Eisenhower Marathon
Large Budget: Visit Topeka – Thunder Over the Heartland airshow
 
Print Marketing
Small Budget: Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty Association – Peace Treaty poster
Medium Budget: Newton CVB – children’s activity book
Large Budget: Visit Kansas City Kansas – New brand, logo, ads
 
Community Awareness
Small Budget: Experience El Dorado – Experience El Dorado campaign
Medium Budget: Visit Emporia – Repurposing of newspaper stands into visitor guide stands
Large Budget: Visit Topeka – Inclusive Topeka initiative
 
Best in Show
Visit Kansas City Kansas – KCK Taco Trail
 
People’s Choice
Visit Emporia – Repurposing of newspaper stands into visitor guide stands
CVBs Showcase Industry's Grit
By Jake Huyett, Marketing Solutions

I’ve had the pleasure of being associated with tourism marketing in Kansas in some form for over three-decades – yeah, I’m old. I’ve had the privilege of judging the TIAK advertising awards for a number of years. 

The judging this year underscored several things. TIAK members are a tough, resilient and innovative lot. They are amazingly multi-talented. With extreme reductions in budgets, staff and outside resources, our CVBs rolled up their sleeves and plowed ahead. Finding new partnerships, creating unique marketing products and doing the best job they could to promote their communities.

I have always admired our state’s tourism champions, but never more so than this year. In 2020/2021 our CVBs shined brightly as they showed their passion and commitment for their communities and our state.
KTC Scholarship Winner

The following thank you letter was sent by Dalton Schneitter, who was chosen for TIAK's student scholarship to attend this year's Kansas Tourism Conference. Dalton is studying Tourism and Hospitality Management at Fort Hays State University.

As I enter my senior year of college, I was excited to get the opportunity to represent not only myself, but my school at the Kansas Tourism Conference.

While I was there, I was in awe by the incredible speakers, and their mission in growing tourism in Kansas. This conference is extremely relevant for all Kansas Tourism professionals, as they explore promoting tourism to both large and small communities in Kansas. I was able to obtain insight of what communities of all sizes are doing to increase tourism, which was so fascinating to learn.

Not only was I able to listen to great insight, but I was also able to network and connect with professionals from all over the state. I would definitely recommend this event to any and all future tourism professionals in Kansas.
Legislative Survey Results

Thank you to everyone that participated in the legislative survey. The input gathered will help develop TIAK's legislative agenda. It's vital that we hear from you, so that together we can tell lawmakers what issues are important to the travel and tourism industry in Kansas.

Click here to see the complete survey results.
September Lodging Report

TIAK has an agreement with Smith Travel Research (STR) to provide members with statewide reports on hotel occupancy each month. The following data is provided directly from STR:


Kansas had 62% property participation and 77% hotel room participation in September.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Tourism Huddle
November 10

TIAK Executive Committee Meeting
November 11

TIAK Board Meeting
December 9

Destination Statehouse
February 9, 2022