Topeka ? A new Web site aimed at increasing arts tourism in Kansas was launched Friday.

The site, discoverkansasarts.com, will offer information on what is happening in the arts across the state.

“This is really responding to a need we’ve heard so many times,” said David Wilson, executive director of the Kansas Arts Commission.

Ashley Holverson, database and e-marketing manager at the Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau, showed how the Web site worked during a news conference in the Capitol.

“We are creating a marketing plan to get the word out,” Holverson said.

The Web site was the product of a collaboration between the Kansas Arts Commission, the Department of Commerce and Housing’s travel and tourism division and CivicPlus, a Manhattan-based Web design company. Officials said about $10,000 in state money was used.

The Web site offers information on special events, festivals and performances, as well as permanent arts destinations, such as museums and galleries.

Computer users can get information by region and date.

¢ Tourism Arts Alliance of Kansas Web site

Content for the site will come from the Tourism Arts Alliance of Kansas.

Arts advocates say arts tourism enhances the quality of life and adds to the state’s economic health.

No statewide studies have been done on the economic impact of the arts, but a recent report focusing on Lawrence showed that arts were a $33.5 million per year industry in the city.

The Arts and Economic Prosperity Study said that nonprofit arts organizations in Lawrence spent $16.9 million per year and leveraged $16.5 million in additional spending from arts audiences, which pumps money into restaurants, hotels and the economy in general.