The U.S. Travel Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released separate statements after the future of Brand USA was threatened due to President Trump’s proposed budget cuts.
The proposed budget would eliminate Brand USA, a federally funded organization that promotes the country overseas as a tourist destination, and shift revenue to Customs and Border Protection.
Brand USA was created by Congress in 2010 and began operating in 2011. It has been funded through visa fees every year and Congress voted in 2014 to reauthorize the program until 2020.
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the proposed elimination of the Brand USA tourism marketing agency in Trump’s federal budget document.
“With all that's going on in the world, unilaterally disarming the marketing of the U.S. as a travel destination would be to surrender market share at the worst possible time,” Dow said. “It’s especially perplexing that the elimination of Brand USA is on the table when both Commerce Secretary Ross and OMB Director Mulvaney each have supported it previously.
“The creation of Brand USA was a bipartisan effort led by Republicans that passed both chambers by overwhelming majorities. The agency was responsible for adding $8.9 billion to the U.S. economy last year, according to the firm Oxford Economics—a 28-to-1 return on investment. Brand USA isn’t funded with a dime of taxpayer money, reduced the deficit by $50 million, and by the OMB’s own accounting eliminating it would put the federal budget further in the red.
“With international visitation being the country’s No. 2 export supporting 15 million American jobs, we’re struggling to understand how cutting Brand USA squares with this administration’s stated priorities.”
AHLA President and CEO Katherine Lugar then released the following statement.
“Travel and tourism is a critical driver of the U.S. economy, generating $2.3 trillion in economic output and responsible for one in nine American jobs,” Lugar said. “That's why we are concerned that the Administration’s budget proposal eliminates federal funding for Brand USA, a public-private partnership that has been a catalyst responsible for driving more than 4.4 million incremental international visitors to the U.S. and supports thousands of American jobs.
“In the last several years, Brand USA has been a powerful force in providing America with a competitive edge and has served as a highly successful promotional program attracting millions of visitors from countries near and far. The program boosts the U.S. economy as Brand USA results in nearly $32 billion in total economic impact, contributes nearly $4 billion in federal, state and local taxes, and supports an average of nearly 50,000 incremental jobs a year—jobs that cannot be exported and which extend well beyond the travel industry.”
“The program has had long-lasting and overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, across all travel sectors. With travel season upon us, it is important for lawmakers to understand the benefits of this program. We need Brand USA’s strong marketing message to remind visitors that the U.S. is open for business.
“As the economy picks up steam, now is the time to ensure the vital economic contributions made by the tourism industry to the nation’s GDP remain strong. We look forward to actively engaging with both key officials in the Administration and Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill to encourage them to keep Brand USA intact and ensure certainty and economic stability.”
