Explore Lawrence unveils mobile visitor center to promote county tourism

Explore Lawrence rolled out a new mobile visitor center on May 5, betting that a brightly wrapped van can do a better job of selling Lawrence and Douglas County than a storefront that sits waiting on Massachusetts Street. The vehicle, covered in colorful designs and local landmarks, is meant to act as a rolling introduction to the city and pull outside dollars toward local businesses, hotels and events.

The project was funded by a $40,000 Kansas Tourism Office grant awarded in December 2024. Executive Director Kim Anspach called the unveiling a turning point for the bureau, saying it forced staff to rethink tourism promotion at a time when a fixed visitor center is no longer the best way to reach travelers. Explore Lawrence closed its brick-and-mortar visitor center in 2025 after deciding the old model was no longer actively drawing people into the city.

Instead, the new van is built to go where potential visitors already are. Community relations director Ruth DeWitt said the old center mostly handed brochures to people who were already in town, while the mobile unit can get in front of tourists before they decide where to go. That shift matters in a crowded regional travel market, where Kansas City, Lawrence and other destinations are competing for attention from the same visitors.

Explore Lawrence plans to use the mobile center at trade shows, regional events and, possibly, Kansas City activations tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The bureau also expects to deploy it at home, including KU football games, parades and festivals across Douglas County. That gives the van a dual role: It is a marketing tool for visitors from outside the county and a visible reminder to residents, alumni and fans that tourism spending can spill into neighborhood restaurants, shops and hotels.

The timing is deliberate. City and tourism leaders have been looking for ways to capture a share of the hundreds of thousands of World Cup visitors expected in the region this summer. If the mobile center works as intended, the payoff will not be measured by how often the van is seen, but by whether more people choose to stay, shop and spend in Lawrence and the county after seeing it.