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Sunflower Summer app presenters seek increase to $5 million to expand statewide attraction reimbursements
Summary
Presenters for the Sunflower Summer program said more Kansas families used the app in 2024 and asked the committee to raise annual funding from $3.5 million to $5 million to support participating attractions and expand access.
Ben Saucida, representing the Sunflower Summer program and the Kansas Aviation Museum, asked the Kansas House Appropriations Committee to increase annual funding for the Sunflower Summer family-access program from $3.5 million to $5 million. He said the program reimburses participating attractions for free or reduced admissions for K–12 students and family members and is administered through the Kansas Department of Commerce and Tourism.
Saucida said Sunflower Summer began after 2020 using ARPA funds and in 2024 reached more than 154,000 families who redeemed about 497,000 tickets at more than 220 participating attractions statewide (presenters reported 176 rural and 47 nonrural locations among participants). He said the program reimbursed attractions for admission up to a $15 per-ticket stipend and that participating families reported ancillary spending (meals, gas, gift-shop purchases) that produced local economic activity.
Adam Smith, president and CEO of Exploration Place in Wichita, said Exploration Place accounted for roughly 11 percent of all visitation through the program last year and presented a local economic-impact estimate. Smith said a micro-study of Exploration Place indicated about $2.35 million in local economic impact attributable to that institution’s participation; he extrapolated a program-level economic impact in the tens of millions and estimated roughly a $6 return for every $1 of state investment.
Committee members asked operational questions (how the app categorizes attractions, outreach in specific districts, and the program’s reimbursement totals and administration). Saucida answered that the Department of Commerce and Tourism manages reimbursements, that the app is free to families, and that an estimated 154,000 families participated in 2024. Representative Rogers asked whether the requested $5 million was annual; Saucida said it was a $1.5 million increase to bring the annual appropriation to $5 million.
Presenters asked the committee to consider the program both as family enrichment and as a statewide economic-development tool that drives tourism to rural Kansas and supports small, local businesses. The request was entered into the committee record; no formal vote or committee action was recorded during the hearing.
