‘Having our moment’: How K-Stater Jenny Wilson ’98 is promoting a city on the rise at Visit KC
In summer 2026, thousands of visitors from all around the world will arrive in Kansas
City to witness one of the largest-scale events in international sports: the FIFA
World Cup.
Some of these fans of football (or soccer, as the sport is known stateside) will be
experiencing Kansas City for the very first time — and Jenny Wilson ’98 is hard at
work making sure they have a good first impression.
Wilson is the vice president of tourism development at Visit KC, an economic development
organization for a city that hosts more than 28 million visitors each year. She oversees
partnerships with local restaurants and attractions; manages visitor services, such
as the downtown Kansas City Visitor Center; and also handles international selling
— a division that is currently busy preparing Kansas City to serve as one of the host
cities for the upcoming World Cup.
“One of the things I love most is, it's hard to have a typical day; it is a lot of
variety in what I do,” Wilson said. “I've been very fortunate; having the ability
to sell Kansas City right now is a lot of fun. It's a city that is just ‘having our
moment.’ If you look between the Kansas City Chiefs and MLS (Major League Soccer)
and NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), all the sports that are happening on the
collegiate and the professional level, and then being able to host the World Cup,
is just an incredible opportunity for the city. I truly enjoy what I do.”
From MHK to KC
Wilson began her career journey at Kansas State University, where she earned a degree
in human ecology and mass communications. She said the experience felt like a dual
major in hospitality and public relations — which was the perfect fit for her future
role at Visit KC.
“K-State was honestly the only school I ever considered going to — it was my No. 1
choice,” she said. “And hospitality was honestly probably always the path I was going
to take. I was a huge Disney fan, so that kind of started it, and then truly enjoyed
working in hospitality as a high schooler.”
Having a passion for the industry and hands-on skills helped her hit the ground running
after graduation.
“That really propelled me into a higher level when I came out of college, than starting
at a very basic entry-level position,” she said. “I was able to move up into management
pretty quickly because I had some past experience.”
Wilson began her career working for Hyatt Hotels, and then transferred to the world
of convention and visitors bureaus, which are now known in the industry as “destination
marketing organizations.”
She has lived in the Kansas City area for more than 20 years now, and she has loved
watching the city grow. More than 53,000 K-State alumni and friends call the Kansas
City metro area home.
“I always say this is a cosmopolitan city with a small-town feel,” she said. “Everybody
here is just so nice — it's that ‘Midwest nice’ you've heard about. You walk around
and you see the KC hearts everywhere; nobody loves Kansas City more than Kansas Citians.
It's just a true pride.”
‘An incredible opportunity’
During her time with Visit KC, Wilson is proud of working with the Big 12 Conference
and the NCAA to bring major college sporting events to the area. She’s also excited
to continue developing the organization’s international visitors program — which she’s
built from the ground up over the past 10 years.
One of the things she enjoys most about her role is witnessing so many people and
organizations coming together to promote a city/region they love.
“We wouldn't have the World Cup if it wasn't for the partnership between the state
of Missouri and state of Kansas,” she said. “If you look at both those states, all
of the entities involved, the local business support — nobody else can tout that.
It's just an incredible opportunity for us.”
And even after the World Cup has come and gone, Wilson believes the region will continue
to see a boost for years to come.
“What I'm most excited for is probably post-World Cup, and what it’s going to do for
Kansas City, not only putting us on a map from the international level, but really
those domestic travelers that maybe didn't think of Kansas City as a spot they could
go visit,” she said. “Maybe somebody from New York or LA is like, ‘Oh, what is there
to do in Kansas City? Why would I go to Kansas City?’ So I think that long-lasting
legacy is really key. Not only to Kansas City — I sell the Flint Hills and Manhattan
internationally, because there's nothing like that out there. You can't get more Americana
than in the Midwest. We still have just those brick-lined streets, these small towns.
We have something special here.”