WASHINGTON
The U.S. travel industry is rallying around Brand USA, after President Trump’s budget proposal threatened to eliminate funding for the agency charged with marketing the U.S. around the world.
In a letter delivered to key congressional committees, the U.S. Travel Association—along with more than 300 travel businesses, associations and destination marketing organizations—highlighted Brand USA’s new return-on-investment numbers, and the agency’s vital role in job creation across America.
“Brand USA is an outstanding performer from an ROI standpoint, and hamstringing this successful public-private partnership would be a bad move for our economy,” said U.S. Travel Association President Roger Dow. “The value Brand USA adds is simply phenomenal, [without taxpayer money].”
Millions of visitors who would not have come here otherwise have visited the U.S. because of Brand USA’s marketing campaigns, and they’ve added billions to the U.S. economy and supported tens of thousands of additional U.S. jobs per year. Now more than ever, Brand USA’s efforts are needed to show the world that America is, and always will be, a welcoming destination with so much to offer [visitors].”
Brand USA president and CEO Chris Thompson announced the latest results of an independent analysis of the agency’s return on investment at U.S. Travel’s IPW gathering in Washington, D.C., on June 5.
According to the independent research firm Oxford Economics, over the last four years Brand USA’s marketing efforts have resulted in:
- Over 4 million incremental (additional) visitors to the U.S.
- Nearly $14 billion in incremental (additional) visitor spending.
- Nearly 51,000 additional American jobs per year.
- Nearly $4 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.
Brand USA is supported by $10 from each $14 Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee paid by visitors from Visa Waiver Program countries, which are matched by private sector contributions.
The annual IPW event, at which U.S. destinations, travel businesses and attractions work to attract international visitors is in progress (June 3-7) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The annual event’s overarching theme is “One Big Welcome” to show that all are accepted in the U.S.
