Written 
Testimony 
to 
the 
Senate 
Commerce 
Committee 
February 
7, 
2008 
By 
Kathy 
Tolbert 


As 
the 
Director 
of 
Rolling 
Hills 
Wildlife 
Adventure, 
I 
would 
like 
to 
share 
my 
thoughts 
with 
you 
regarding 
the 
importance 
of 
Senate 
Bill 
No. 
501, 
what 
I 
believe 
it 
means 
to 
Kansas 
tourism 
and 
how 
I 
believe 
it 
will 
impact 
the 
future 
of 
attractions 
such 
as 
Rolling 
Hills 
Wildlife 
Adventure. 


Having 
been 
involved 
in 
Kansas 
tourism 
for 
the 
past 
14 
years, 
I 
have 
come 
to 
appreciate 
all 
that 
Kansas 
has 
to 
offer 
tourists. 
Whether 
visitors 
are 
seeking 
the 
bustle 
of 
a 
large 
city, 
or 
those 
quiet 
moments 
in 
rural 
settings, 
Kansas 
offers 
it 
all. 
Yet 
the 
budget 
for 
Kansas 
tourism 
is 
ranked 
44th 
in 
the 
nation. 
Despite 
the 
comparatively 
low 
budget, 
tourism 
is 
a 
$5.6 
billion 
industry 
for 
the 
State. 


Kansas 
tourism 
has 
always 
had 
the 
challenge 
of 
being 
considered 
a 
“drive-through” 
state 
– 
visitors 
driving 
through 
on 
their 
way 
to 
Branson 
or 
Colorado. 
Compound 
that 
with 
a 
limited 
tourism 
budget 
to 
promote 
what 
Kansas 
has 
to 
offer 
and 
the 
lack 
of 
continuity 
in 
leadership, 
and 
it 
is 
easy 
to 
understand 
why 
it 
is 
time 
for 
a 
change. 
As 
the 
Kansas 
Tourism 
Initiative 
has 
developed 
over 
the 
past 
two 
years, 
industry 
partners 
have 
joined 
hands 
to 
create 
this 
new 
plan 
that 
thinks 
outside 
of 
the 
box. 
The 
plan 
offers 
a 
new 
way 
of 
thinking 
for 
all 
of 
us 
involved 
in 
the 
tourism 
industry 
but 
the 
changes 
it 
presents 
are 
exciting. 


The 
creation 
of 
Visit 
Kansas 
as 
an 
independent 
organization 
allows 
a 
continuity 
of 
staffing 
and 
long-range 
goals 
that 
have 
not 
been 
available 
in 
the 
past. 
The 
proposed 
governance 
of 
Visit 
Kansas 
allows 
a 
board 
of 
directors 
that 
is 
a 
blend 
of 
tourism 
professionals 
and 
appointees 
by 
the 
Governor 
and 
the 
Legislature. 
The 
board’s 
oversight, 
along 
with 
the 
professional 
staff 
of 
Visit 
Kansas, 
will 
work 
towards 
making 
Kansas 
a 
tourism 
destination. 


Visit 
Kansas 
is 
not 
just 
another 
slogan, 
another 
logo, 
or 
another 
ad 
campaign. 
While 
marketing 
is 
a 
strong 
component, 
it 
is 
certainly 
not 
the 
only 
one. 
Product 
development, 
research 
and 
education 
are 
all 
strong 
elements 
of 
this 
plan. 
If 
we 
want 
to 
attract 
visitors 
to 
our 
state, 
we 
must 
continue 
to 
offer 
quality 
products. 
We 
need 
to 
be 
able 
to 
determine 
who 
our 
potential 
visitor 
is, 
how 
we 
reach 
them, 
and 
how 
we 
can 
influence 


625 
N. 
Hedville 
Road 
Salina, 
Kansas 
67401 
Phone 
785-827-9488 
Fax 
785-827-3738 
Website: 
www.rollinghillswildlife.com 
E-mail: 
info@rollinghillswildlife.com 



their 
travel 
plans 
to 
make 
Kansas, 
if 
not 
their 
destination, 
at 
least 
a 
portion 
of 
their 
journey. 
And 
it 
is 
vital 
that 
our 
tourism 
professionals 
receive 
assistance 
and 
education 
as 
we 
move 
forward. 


The 
2006-2007 
tourism 
budget 
was 
just 
over 
$4.4 
million. 
The 
proposed 
budget 
of 
Visit 
Kansas 
is 
$15 
million. 
This 
amount 
places 
Kansas 
somewhere 
in 
the 
middle 
of 
the 
other 
50 
states 
tourism 
office 
budgets, 
rather 
than 
44th 
. 
A 
significant 
portion 
of 
these 
additional 
funds 
are 
performance 
based 
and 
will 
occur 
as 
a 
direct 
result 
of 
increased 
visitors 
to 
the 
state. 
It 
is 
understood 
that 
reaching 
this 
goal 
will 
take 
time, 
but 
I 
believe 
the 
more 
we 
are 
able 
to 
invest, 
the 
greater 
the 
return 
will 
be 
on 
that 
investment. 


There 
may 
be 
some 
in 
the 
tourism 
industry 
that 
argue 
there 
is 
nothing 
in 
this 
plan 
for 
them. 
I 
believe 
everyone 
in 
the 
industry 
stands 
to 
gain 
if 
this 
plan 
is 
implemented. 
Rolling 
Hills 
Zoo, 
located 
in 
western 
Saline 
County, 
opened 
its 
gates 
in 
1999, 
with 
the 
wildlife 
museum 
opening 
in 
2005. 
Between 
the 
two 
entities, 
Rolling 
Hills 
Wildlife 
Adventure 
averages 
approximately 
130,000 
visitors 
a 
year. 
Our 
statistics 
show 
that 
25% 
of 
our 
visitors 
are 
from 
Saline 
County, 
60% 
from 
across 
the 
state 
of 
Kansas, 
and 
the 
remaining 
15% 
are 
from 
out-of-state. 
With 
our 
close 
proximity 
to 
both 
I-70 
and 
I-135, 
it 
is 
my 
belief 
that 
the 
number 
of 
out-of-state 
visitors 
is 
where 
the 
most 
potential 
for 
our 
growth 
lies. 
While 
I 
do 
not 
have 
access 
to 
other 
Kansas 
attractions’ 
statistics, 
I 
would 
not 
find 
it 
surprising 
that 
most 
attractions 
feel 
their 
largest 
growth 
potential 
is 
in 
out-of-
state 
visitors. 
With 
limited 
budgets 
within 
our 
individual 
facilities, 
it 
is 
difficult 
if 
not 
impossible 
to 
reach 
those 
potential 
visitors. 
It 
is 
my 
belief 
that 
if 
SB 
501 
is 
passed 
into 
law 
and 
Visit 
Kansas 
becomes 
a 
reality, 
we 
will 
see 
out-of-state 
visitation 
increase, 
which 
in 
turn 
brings 
new 
dollars 
into 
our 
entities 
and 
also 
into 
the 
State’s 
economy. 
How 
can 
this 
not 
have 
a 
positive 
impact 
on 
all 
of 
Kansas? 


In 
closing, 
I 
believe 
this 
is 
an 
exciting 
time 
to 
be 
a 
part 
of 
Kansas 
tourism. 
This 
initiative 
has 
been 
proposed 
by 
a 
diverse 
group 
of 
individuals, 
some 
who 
are 
traditional 
tourism 
partners, 
some 
who 
are 
non-traditional. 
The 
plan 
is 
new 
and 
innovative 
and 
has 
united 
the 
tourism 
industry 
together 
in 
an 
unprecedented 
way. 
I 
believe 
this 
is 
the 
step 
we 
need 
to 
take 
to 
move 
Kansas 
tourism 
into 
the 
future. 


Thank 
you 
for 
your 
time. 
I 
appreciate 
your 
consideration 
of 
SB 
501 
during 
the 
2008 
session. 


Kathy 
Tolbert, 
Director 
Rolling 
Hills 
Wildlife 
Adventure 


625 
N. 
Hedville 
Road 
Salina, 
Kansas 
67401 
Phone 
785-827-9488 
Fax 
785-827-3738 
Website: 
www.rollinghillswildlife.com 
E-mail: 
info@rollinghillswildlife.com