Our Story
Established by the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 as the nation’s first public-private partnership to spearhead a globally coordinated marketing effort to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and communicate U.S. visa and entry policies, Brand USA began operations in May 2011.
As one of the best levers for driving economic growth, international travel to the United States supports more than 1 million American jobs and benefits virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. The international segment of the travel economy is especially high-value because visitors from abroad on average spend more time and money and visit more destinations than domestic travelers. Since its founding, Brand USA has worked with thousands of partner organizations to invite the world to explore the exceptional, diverse, and virtually limitless travel experiences and destinations available in the United States of America.
According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past nine years Brand USA’s marketing initiatives have helped welcome 7.7 million incremental visitors to the USA, benefiting the U.S. economy with $56 billion in total economic impact, and supporting, on average, nearly 40,000 incremental jobs each year. Importantly, approximately half the jobs supported are outside the travel and tourism industry, including manufacturing, construction, finance, retail, and more.
Brand USA’s operations are supported by a combination of nonfederal contributions from destinations, travel brands, and private-sector organizations plus matching funds collected by the U.S. government from international visitors traveling under the Visa Waiver Program.
Visit TheBrandUSA.com for industry and partner information.
Visit VisitTheUSA.com for exceptional and unexpected travel experiences in the United States.
Vision, Mission, Values, and Purpose
Vision
Travel enriches lives and benefits communities through welcoming the people of the world to the USA
Mission
Contribute to community prosperity throughout the USA by marketing the welcome, driving international visitation, and clearly communicating U.S. travel policy
Values
- Courage: We are bold and take smart risks in our work and our relationships
- Inclusivity: Our company culture and our work is welcoming to all
- Collaboration: We prioritize working relationships and communication
- Partnership: We act on the knowledge that we are stronger together
- Accountability: We work hard, deliver results, and know when to rest
Purpose
- Create Innovative Marketing: Promote travel to the entirety of the USA to support the wide variety of communities within and beyond our gateways
- Market the Welcome: Convey a welcoming message and communicate travel policies to facilitate confident, informed visitors
- Build and Maintain Trust: Demonstrate our integrity through inclusion, transparency, and compliance to cultivate trusted relationships with our global community of stakeholders
- Add and Create Value: Pioneer marketing solutions on behalf of our industry to leverage the USA brand in ways only possible at the national level
- Drive Results: Use performance data from macroeconomic returns and other key indicators to optimize resources against our multifaceted mission