BY CAMI KOONS
As Kansas looks to reopen through Gov. Laura Kelly’s phased plan, the tourism and travel industry prepares and adapts for summer visitors.
Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said she anticipates Kansans will travel regionally this summer rather than taking larger vacations. Jobe said this as a great opportunity for residents to learn more about the state and its history.
“We’re encouraging people to get out and experience state parks and what Kansas has to offer,” Jobe said.
Travelers are often at risk of an increase in exposure to other people, making social distancing more difficult. Because of this, Jobe said she is advising tourism attractions in the state to follow their local guidelines.
“The leaders at the state and local levels are making great decisions,” Jobe said. “We want to make sure we encourage people to follow local guidelines.”
Jobe said as with most historical incidents, there are major changes to travel as the coronavirus takes its toll on the region and country. She compared prospective sanitary standards following the pandemic to airport security standards after 9/11.
“COVID-19 is probably going to bring about changes in our everyday life to make us safer,” Jobe said.
Explore Lawrence Executive Director Michael Davidson said one of his biggest goals is educating stakeholders on what visitors will want in order to feel safe traveling. With that, he said he also wants the policies of restaurants, hotels and stores to be transparent for visitors.
“The visitor wants to come to a destination they know is safe,” Davidson said.
Davidson said eXplore Lawrence is hosting several webinars to educate businesses on the safest practices for reopening.
While phases two and three of Kelly’s plan allow most businesses to reopen, Davidson said it’s not quite that simple. For example, large venues will have to evaluate if hosting an event at half capacity (to satisfy distancing measures) will be profitable. Davidson said he’s been fascinated by all the minds working to solve these logistical problems.
“It’s just an extraordinary time for us trying to figure it out,” Davidson said.
Davidson said a lot of events that fuel the hotel industry in Lawrence have been postponed and many have had to cancel. He said these are dollars that the industry, whose taxes fund eXplore Lawrence, will not be able to reclaim.
Davidson said he doesn’t expect to see the hotel industry reach the occupancy it had at the end of 2019 until the end of 2021. The trend is not exclusive to the Lawrence area, as a national study of U.S. travel conducted by Oxford Economics predicted a 45% national decline in revenue for the year and a projected loss of 6.9 million jobs in the industry.
Explore Lawrence has turned its marketing from reaching outward to focus on supporting Lawrence and surrounding communities. Davidson said the website, Unmistakably Lawrence, was reworked to support the community. This includes a page exclusively about restaurants offering take-out food and a calendar full of virtual events.
Similarly, the Travel KS website now offers virtual tours of many museums and attractions across the state. Jobe said the feature was initially added to help educate users, but now can serve to help Kansans plan their summer travels.
“We’ve encouraged people to start making their bucket lists and vacation plans as you have extra time on your hands,” Jobe said.
Jobe said people should check their destination’s website beforehand and make sure it will be open.
Kelley Woods of Eudora said her family had to postpone plans for a vacation in Fort Myers, Florida. She and her family planned to stay in a rented house during the trip, scheduled for June 1. Woods said after speaking with the owner of the house and realizing none of the beaches would be open, she decided it wasn’t worth the money to travel to the beach-front town.
“It’s just hard to tell if we’re going to get to go this summer,” Woods said.
Woods said in the meantime, the family plans to take their boat to Clinton Lake, west of Lawrence.
Clinton Lake is one of many parks in the state that has remained open through stay-at-home orders. Samantha Jones, the park manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Clinton Lake, said she has seen an increase in park visits since the order went into effect.
Jones said the boat ramps, picnic tables and almost 60 miles of trails are open to the public. Most campgrounds and bathrooms will remain closed until at least June 1. Jones said she encourages people to visit the lake and trails and to continue practicing safety measures outlined by the CDC and on the park’s website.
“People are looking for local places to recreate,” Jones said.
For those looking to get a little farther out from Eudora, the Flint Hills region offers several open parks. Susan Adams, director of the Flint Hills Discovery Center located in Manhattan, said now is a chance to experience and appreciate the region.
“This is an opportunity for the Flint Hills region to shine,” Adams said.
The Discovery Center, separate from the parks, is currently closed. While Adams said she is uncertain when the center will reopen to the public, the staff has been working virtually to create online content. This includes free, downloadable lesson plans and weekly workshops on the center’s Facebook page.
“I encourage people to take this time to learn more about this ecosystem,” Adams said.
When the center is able to reopen, Adams said she is confident people will visit. She said one of the center’s priorities will be to post its cleaning procedures and do what it can to make visitors feel safe.
In the meantime, Adams said she is happy to see so many people outside, walking through the trails and experiencing the region.
Melisa Lord of Eudora said she and her family plan to take advantage of Kansas this summer after canceling their trip to the East Coast. She said they decided to cancel after realizing the tourist attractions in Maine and other Northeastern states will likely be closed during the family’s early July vacation.
“We’re probably going to do some ‘staycations’ and just visit things in Kansas,” Lord said.
The Lord family and the Woods family are just some of the many Eudora residents who have canceled summer plans because of the coronavirus pandemic. Our Facebook outreach garnered over 20 comments about canceled family vacations, concerts and senior trips.
Reach reporter Cami Koons at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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