Kansas Tourism. And other oxymorons.

First thing we have to realize is Kansas isn’t “the mountains” or “the seashore” or “Mt. Rushmore” or the Gateway Arch or Grand Canyon.

Nobody goes to Kansas on purpose.

We’re not just a fly-over state, we’re a drive-through state.

We have a lot of interesting places to visit but no one is gonna pack up the kids and hightail it to Kansas for a vacation. Kansas isn’t Disney World.

We need to deal with it.

Our opportunity for boosting tourism in Kansas needs to be based not on destinations, but on side-trips.

Every hour we can encourage visitors to spend an extra hour or two not going through Kansas will be an opportunity to have more tourism.

If we can lure people into side trips off I-70 and I-35, for just an hour or two, we can increase tourism dollars. As the old marketing saying goes, “There’s rarely a way to increase sales 100%, but there’s a hundred ways to increase it 1%.

So here’s what I’d do:

Take advantage of stuff most people think they know or never knew about Kansas and lure them off the Interstates for a day trip into the soul that is Kansas.

Here’s an idea:

Kirstie Alley’s Favorite Leg!

Ghost-written if necessary, but basically it’s a summary of fried chicken places. Chicken Annie’s in Pittsburg, the Brookville Hotel, the Chicken Shack in Bronson…. There are plenty of places. Every moment an out-of stater spends off the drive-through lanes is a contribution to the Kansas Economy.

And another:

Colin Powell on Kansas and the Military.

It’s a bit of a stretch; Powell’s Kansas connection to Kansas is pretty much limited to his days in school at Fort Leavenworth. But an essay (maybe ghost-written under his name) about Kansas’ place in military history is likely to entice buffs to visit Fort Scott, Fort Larned, the Eisenhower Library and Museum, and the place Custer was headquartered before he went to Little Big Horn.

Here’s another:

Kwirky Kansans, by Dennis Hopper.

The Dodge City native writes (or someone ghost-writes) about The Garden of Eden, the Davis Memorial in Hiawatha, Dr. Brinkley, the goat-gland doctor. Buckminster Fuller and the Dymaxion house… even the absurd idea that a couple of college kids’ pizza “hut” could become an international force.


Slam Dunk! By Lynette Woodard.

This is one of those “hundred ways to increase tourism 1%” items. But Kansas has a thing about basketball. From the Jayhawk conference producing major college stars after their JuCo experience to KU’s impressive Allen Field House (I mean, if you were in North Carolina and had a chance to see Cameron Indoor Arena, wouldn’t you be tempted to turn off?)

John Riggins on 8-Man Football

Again, probably ghost-written, but a quirky aspect of life in Kansas. It’s the same game, but not quite. And it’s something to watch even once. It’s a 1% detour off the Interstate which can turn into a couple of meals or a motel stay.

The Sky is Higher Here, by Amelia Earhart

Okay. Obviously ghost-written. But there are a few people who’ll turn off the Interstate to see the gathering of Powered Parachute Pilots in Iola every year. There are people who’d tour the Learjet factory or Boeing… if there were a tour.

And here’s the way to promote stuff:

At the rest stops on the turnpike and truck stops on I-70 and the :”Welcome to Kansas” places near the borders, establish video kiosks that reveal to people the Kansans they know but didn’t know were Kansans.

If you’re driving through Kansas en route to California you might not stop. But on your way back home you might consider stopping by Guy & May’s Tavern in Williamsburg for ribs after you’ve read (or seen on the kiosk) about

Don Johnson’s Favorite Rib.

Reviews of Rosedale Barbecue in KCK, Guy & May’s, the Mom & Pop places scattered around the state that turn meat into magic.


Okay, and I know it’s crass and politically (and in every other way) incorrect, but what if we wrote a piece in a magazine or produced a video for a kiosk that talked about the challenge of dealing with the worst criminals in Kansas. The Dalton Museum in Coffeyville; Quantell’s Raiders, “In Cold Blood,” even BTK.

Here’s the point:

The goal is to make Kansas interesting to non-Kansans.