• Have a great idea to utilize our Tourism Marketing Grant? The application deadline for this round is January 1st, with awardees announced in March.  
  • Do you have a great photo we can update your city header page with? Check out the example here to see how yours could look.  Please email Jordan your photo or to set up your city page.
  • Did you know there is a Kansas Venue Coalition? This coalition began to preserve the ecosystem of independent entertainment venues and promoters in Kansas.  If you are interested in joining this group please contact Kelli.
  • If you missed Wednesday's Virtual Huddle, you can watch it here. The next huddle will take place on Wednesday, December 16.
  • Looking for a great holiday gift idea?  KANSAS! Magazine subscription prices go up in January so be sure to subscribe or renew now.  Don't forget to order a KANSAS! Calendar at the same time!
  • Did you miss a previous Travel Talk?  No worries....click here. 
  • For more resources check out our Industry page. 

Happy 25th Anniversary to the Grand Central Hotel & Grill in Cottonwood Falls, KS.  The Grand Central Hotel first opened in 1884, and always a hotel, it became The Central House, The American, The Cottonwood Falls Hotel and on November 17, 1995, formally reopened as The Grand Central Hotel and Grill by owner Suzan Barnes.  Suzan is an active member of the Kansas Tourism Industry as a past TIAK president and is the current chair of the Governor’s Council on Travel and Tourism.  Happy Anniversary to Suzan and her staff!
Destination Tools for Independent Businesses: Proven Strategies to Attract Customers & Drive Revenue During this Pandemic
 
Date:  Monday, November 23
Time: 12PM Central
Details:  Attendance to the live event is limited to 100 participants, but anyone who registers will receive a link to the recording of the webinar, whether you can attend in-person or not.

This no-cost presentation will take you through Jon Schallert's favorite tactics and marketing strategies available for North America’s struggling independent businesses that they can use right now, through the remainder of 2020, into 2021. He's designed this presentation to help businesses even as the pandemic reaches new heights and the prospect of another consumer shutdown grows.

Register Here

Future of Events:  Sharing a Vision of New & Remerging Trends

Date:  Tuesday, November 24
Time: 10AM Central

Focusing on key trends for 2021 and beyond, this summit explores what new changes and developments have emerged during 2020 and how will these trends continue. Panelists will discuss what future event models will look like, what does hybrid mean to them, and what new opportunities have arisen through the digitization of events.

Register Here
 
SEO for Tourism
 
Date:  Thursday, November 26
Time: 1PM Central
Details:  Use coupon code "TravelKS" - If you are unable to attend this session you will be able to watch the recorded version by registering here.

In this session, we explain what 'search engine optimization' means, and present an overview of a successful SEO strategy. We provide a foundational understanding of various factors that affect SEO, including: onsite (technical), offsite (public relations, list building, Google Maps, Youtube). We'll guide you in how to audit your current website's status with Google and explain which tools are the best to use to track and monitor growth. For those who have outsourced SEO we'll give you the questions to ask and the tools to use to either bring SEO in house or be able to better monitor your vendor.

Register Here

Building a Commercial Hotel Strategy for a Digital World

Date:  Thursday, November 26
Time: 8PM Central
 
IDeaS’ industry advisor will share our latest recovery sentiment survey results, and we have invited our partner Sojern, a leading provider of digital marketing solutions for the travel industry, to share the latest trends in travel search, tips and recommendations to leverage digital marketing tactics to attract web traffic and improve conversion.

This Travel Talk Lite is sponsored by Harvest Hosts.