LARNED — Fort Larned National Historic Site will be featured June 25 on the Kansas Travel and Tourism Division’s 2011 Faces and Places Tour.
The June 25 tour will start at Cheyenne Bottoms outside Great Bend and journey to Fort Larned later that day.
State tourism officials and other Kansas travel enthusiasts will travel the state this summer in a driving billboard to promote Kansas tourism as part of the recently announced Faces and Places Tour.
The tour will help promote Kansas tourism through social media and learn more about our state’s events and attractions.
“Tourism is a vital part of the Kansas economy and one of the state’s top priorities to grow and expand,” said Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, M.D. “Tourism is the third largest industry in Kansas, supporting a 125,000-strong workforce. We will work very hard in the future to create more tourism opportunities to showcase our great state and what it has to offer.”
Through a unique corporate partnership, Ed Bozarth Chevrolet No. 1 Buick-GMC is sponsoring the use of the Chevy Suburban for the Faces and Places Tour. The mobile billboard covered in fun images of Kansas, is also a social media machine designed to let our fans online know what the Kansas experience is all about.
The roadies will visit 34 festivals and events. At each stop along the tour, the roadies will be out talking with festival-goers and other visitors, snapping photos and shooting people-on-the-street videos to share with our social networks. The roadies will also hand out giveaways and encourage folks to share their videos and photos of the experience on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
“As the Faces and Places van travels the state, it will bring attention to the wonderful attractions we have in Kansas,” said Commerce Secretary Pat George. “Expanding tourism will be a key component to moving the state forward, growing the Kansas economy and creating jobs.”
National Travel and Tourism Week was started in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan as a way to champion the power of travel. Travel and tourism is one of America’s largest industries. In Kansas, tourism had a $5.46 million impact on the state’s 2009 economy, according to the most recent economic impact study conducted by the IHS Global Insight Travel & Tourism Group.
The Kansas Travel and Tourism Division is charged with encouraging the traveling public to visit and travel within Kansas by promoting recreational, historic, and natural advantages of the state and its facilities. The Division focuses on measurable goals in all of its marketing and promotional efforts, which includes increasing domestic and international inquiries through advertising and public relations efforts and converting those inquiries into visits to Kansas, increasing group tour visits, and generating positive public perceptions about the state as a travel destination. For more information, visit TravelKS.com.
Faces and Places Tour
June 4-5 — Lawrence Farmer’s Market; Baldwin, Midland Railway Day Out with Thomas; John Brown’s Battle of Black Jack; Abilene, Brookville Hotel; Great Plains Theatre
June 9-10 — Wichita Riverfest; Salina, Smoky Hill River Festival
June 18-19 — Lindsborg, Midsummer’s Festival; Salina, Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure; Marquette, Kansas Motorcycle Museum; Cottonwood Falls, Emma Chase Café
June 25 — Great Bend, Cheyenne Bottoms; Fort Larned, National Historic Site
June 26 — Montezuma, Stauth Memorial Museum; Meade, Dalton Days Wild West Fest; Greensburg, The Big Well
July 15-17 — Goodland, Travel Information Center; Colby, Pickin’ on the Plains; Hays, Blues, BBQ and Bargains
July 18 — Kansas City T-Bones; Bonner Springs, Moon Marble Company; Lecompton, Constitution Hall
July 30 — Wilson, Czech Festival; Dodge City Days
Aug. 5–6 — Phillipsburg, Kansas Biggest Rodeo; Belleville Midget Nationals; Abilene, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum; El Dorado, Frontier Western Celebration; Hays, Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Aug. 13 — Garnett, Kansas INT Water-ski, Wakeboard Championships; Arma, V-J Homecoming; Frontenac Bakery, West Mineral, Big Brutus
Aug. 26  — Topeka Heartland Park; Brown v. Board of Education; Hazel Hill Chocolate Traditions; Marion Lane Candles
Sept. 9 — Hutchinson, Kansas State Fair
Sept. 16 — U..S. 36 Treasure Hunt, Hiawatha, Seneca, Marysville
Sept. 23 — McPherson, Scottish Festival and Highland Games; Medicine Lodge, Indian Peace Treaty
Oct. 8-9 — Atchison, Haunted Trolley Tour; Lewis and Clark Pavillion; Nell Hill’s; Leavenworth, Buffalo Soldier Monument; Old Fashioned Soda Fountain and Grill; Lake Perry