An Exploratory Marketing Survey of the Southeast Kansas Tourism Region

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to conduct a pilot marketing survey for several counties in Southeast Kansas in order to develop an understanding of the region's existing visitors--who they are and why they chose to visit certain attractions in the Southeast Kansas area. Based on this survey data, a visitor profile was developed for each of the following major categories of tourist attractions: Fairs and Special Events; Historical Sites; Lakes, Reservoirs and State Parks; and Museums. Specifically, for each category, the study examined demographic characteristics of the visitors, visitors' leisure activity description, visitors' stage in the family life cycle, the motivation(s) for the visit, origins of the visitors, their party composition, mode of transportation, place of stay, and money spent on the trip, decision-making process such as the source(s) of information used to find out about various attractions, who made the primary decision to visit, and whether the trip was planned or impromptu, media habits of the visitors, and visitors' overall reaction to the attractions they visited.