This website serves Farmers and Ranchers in the Kansas AgriTourism Industry.
For family outings, go to http://www.travelks.com

Welcome to Kansas AgriTourism!

This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
The site is a project of the Kansas Agritourism Advisory Council, working in cooperation with:
the Kansas Agriculture Marketing Division and the Travel and Tourism Division of the Department of Commerce
and with financial assistance from Frontier Farm Credit.
We invite you to explore this website to find a variety of articles and resources that will help you succeed in agritourism.
If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, and ask for the Agritourism Liaison.
The Kansas AgriTourism
Advisory Council
 
Join the Kansas AgriTourism
Mailing List
Click Here

Agritourism Scholarship Application

The Kansas Department of Commerce, Agriculture Marketing Division has established a scholarship program to assist Kansas agritourism operators in attending select conferences, seminars and educational tours, to gain first-hand information regarding agritourism best practices around the region and the country, and to develop professional, educational, and marketing relationships within the industry nationwide. There is $25,000 available for the program in fiscal year 2006.

Conference Attendance
Commerce will reimburse scholarship awardees for all costs associated with educational tours, workshops, seminars, sessions, registration, and one year’s annual organizational dues related to attendance at an approved agritourism, tourism, or agricultural direct marketing conference, up to a total of $5,000 per application.

To qualify for Commerce scholarship funds, each approved application must consist of two (2) representatives from the Kansas Agritourism operation, both being directly involved in the operations, marketing, and development of the business, and both must attend the conference. Commerce funds may not be used for travel, lodging, or incidental expenses, which remain the responsibility of the applicants. Funded conference attendance must take place within 12 months of the award.

Best-practices Educational Trips
The purpose of funding this activity is to provide individual Kansas agritourism businesses or regional or market specific groups of Kansas agritourism businesses assistance with travel for research and education purposes to approved agritourism operations or agritourism market clusters regionally and nationally.

Commerce will reimburse for costs associated with guided, organized trips to target agritourism, tourism, or value-added businesses regionally and/or nationally up to $2000 per application. Collaborative proposals involving multiple regional and/or market group partners will receive priority designation. Commerce funds may be used to offset any of the following costs related to the trip: vehicle rental, lodging, airfare, motor coach costs, consultation fees charged by business being visited, admission fees to model attractions or events, insurance for trip participants for duration of trip, or shared educational materials purchased for or during the trip. All other costs remain the responsibility of participants or other sponsors. Funded best-practices educational trips must take place within 12 months of the award.

All applicant businesses must be registered with the Kansas Department of Commerce as a certified agritourism operation as provided by the Agritourism Promotion Act, K.S.A. 74-50,165 et seq.


Applications will be accepted until October 30, 2005, and awards will be announced by December 1, 2005. Half of the re-imbursement will take place after the applicants have actually registered for the approved conference. The remaining funds will be dispersed when the final report is submitted after the approved conference concludes.

Click here to download the complete instructions and application form.