Take a look at the latest on the COVID-19
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Updates You Should Know

(Please note bolded updates are new)
  • Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the Travel Industry Association of Kansas hosted the second Kansas Tourism Industry COVID-19 Virtual Meeting on Wednesday, featuring representatives from the Department of Labor. You can find the recording here.
  • We will continue hosting this meeting weekly over the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please feel free to share the recordings or to invite other stakeholders to participate in the calls. While the virtual meeting is capped at 250 participants, we will continue to release the recording shortly after. The details for next week's meeting are as follows:
    • Topic: Tourism & Hospitality Industry COVID 19 weekly update

      Time: Apr 15, 2020 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

      Join Zoom Meeting

      https://zoom.us/j/144561519

      Meeting ID: 144 561 519

      One tap mobile

      +13462487799,,144561519# US (Houston)

      +14086380968,,144561519# US (San Jose)

  • In an effort to protect the health of Kansans and prevent the spread of COVID-19, Governor Laura Kelly, with the support of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), is suspending sales of general nonresident turkey permits effective immediately. The suspension is made possible via Executive Order No. 20-21, signed on April 9, 2020 by Governor Kelly. Nonresident hunters who made their spring turkey purchase prior to the order’s effective date may still participate in Kansas’ spring turkey season; however, because Kansas’ regular turkey season has yet to open (April 15, 2020), only a small percentage of the nonresident permits normally purchased have been sold. KDWPT is offering refunds and KDWPT gift cards in an effort to lower participation rates even further. Visit ksoutdoors.com for more information.
  • If you are a 501(c)(6) organization, U.S. Travel Association has created a document that should be helpful in understanding what 501(c)(6) organizations ARE able to access now from the CARES Act and what they expect you'll be able to access in the short term.
  • The Attraction Development Grant timeline will continue as scheduled. Please continue to submit applications before the April 30th deadline.
  • The early-bird period for submitting listings for the 2021 Kansas Travel Guide is open and run through May 31st.  During this time, a general listing will be $80 and a highlighted listing will be $120. We are currently updating forms and our site, those will be available next week on TravelKS.com. If you have questions, please email Andrea.
  • Kansas Tourism staff have been following Governor Kelly's directive of social distancing since March 23. Our staff is currently working full-time remotely. Please continue to reach out to us
  • Many Kansas State Parks and public lands remain open to the public. KDWPT staff is limited, so offices are closed to walk-in traffic. Signage on the front door will give a phone number that will be responded to M-F, 8am-5pm.

Things You Can Do  

(Please note bolded updates are new)
 
  • We encourage you to update your local listings as you are able. The great thing about our extranet is you can access it from anywhere, so it's a good item to work on if you are working remotely. Our website provider also launched a new feature that allows extranet users to update business information in regard to the crisis. You are now able to add things like 'Temporarily Closed', 'Offers Delivery', 'Offers Take-Out' and more to show what options are still available (or not) in your community. Now is also a great time to get comfortable in using our extranet. You can find our extranet training center here.
  • We also want to encourage you to take some time and pursue obtaining your Kansas Destination Specialist certification from TIAK. We are encouraging members of our staff who have not obtained the certification yet to pursue this opportunity over the next few weeks, and we'd love to see you do the same. The great news is the KDS program partners well with our marketing education webinars through E-Learning U. Even if you miss the weekly live webinar, we have an archive of 350+ hours for you to catch up on. These webinars are absolutely free to you with the code 'Travel KS'. If you need assistance with E-Learning U please reach out to Jordan.
  • Please make sure you are a member of the Kansas Tourism Industry Facebook Group. This will be the easiest, quickest way we can reach out to industry members over the next two weeks. 
  • Continue to let us know the impact of cancellations and lost business in your community.
  • Continue to update events on the TravelKS.com websites as more cancellations or reschedulings roll in.
  • Continue to monitor your social media postings and website updates during this time. If there is a question about whether something is appropriate for the circumstances, please air on the side of caution. 
U.S. Travel Association Emergency Preparedness and Response
Rolling Updates from WHO
KDHE
Meeting and Events Industry
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