Brand USA Newsletter - August 2016

Letter from the President & CEO

Christopher Thompson

Today's the day we've all been looking forward to celebrating:  August 25, 2016, also known as “Founders Day,” which marks the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service. Often called “America’s Best Idea,” we are privileged to celebrate this momentous anniversary by continuing to welcome international visitors to enjoy the stunning beauty of our more than 400 parks available (413 and counting as of today), including national parks, monuments, and historic sites.

While the National Parks were inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt, by enabling the 1906 American Antiquities Act and protecting approximately 230 million acres of public land, Founder’s Day marks the date President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill that created the National Park Service, mandating the agency to protect the scenic, natural, and historic lands and wilderness for the enjoyment of future generations.

This year, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, we not only celebrate the achievements of the past 100 years, but begin a second century of stewardship of our parks to be enjoyed by communities across the nation for generations to come.

The National Park Service is encouraging everyone to #FindYourPark with special events planned across the country. You can view these events and more by clicking here.

Here are our recommendations in addition to those you’ll find on the Find Your Park site.

Take Advantage of Fee-Free Days at the Parks
To commemorate the centennial, the National Park Service is making the 124 national parks that normally charge an entrance fee free to all visitors during its birthday weekend (today through August 28)—all part of 16 days in 2016 that free admission is available to everyone. The fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

If you can’t make it to one of the national parks on one of these days, here are the final two days that are designated fee-free days by the National Park Service.

  • September 24: National Public Lands Day
     
  • November 11: Veterans Day
     

Find Your Park Any Day, Any Year
If you don’t happen to visit a park on one of the fee-free days, keep in mind national parks are always a value—with entrance fees ranging from $3 to $30.  In addition, active duty military and citizens with a permanent disability are also eligible for free passes—and fourth grade students can get free annual passes through the Every Kid in a Park program.  Check out the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass page for more information.

Visit the Brand USA Great Outdoors Content Hub 
Brand USA proudly showcases the splendor of our national parks and other protected lands and waters. In 2014, we launched a “content hub” for the great outdoors and began to push out compelling storytelling about our national treasures to a global audience. Visit Brand USA’s great outdoors site today to find more inspiration to enjoy all that the USA has to offer both inside and outside the parks.

Take Your Friends and Family to a Movie—Again!
We have made the great outdoors and our national parks a key theme to so much of our USA campaign, cooperative marketing and travel trade efforts—from national parks quizzes with Expedia to influencer programs in our parks to fam trips to lesser-known treasures. In conjunction with our federal and industry partners, we have embraced the occasion with great dynamism.

The centerpiece of these efforts is our giant screen film National Parks Adventure.  We celebrated the premiere of the film in February in conjunction with our partners at the Departments of Commerce and Interior, and continue to open in new markets around the world. Take your friends and family members to a screening or encourage them to see the film—it’s worth seeing again and again.

Brand USA has hosted major travel trade activation events in key markets such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the UK.
 
Currently on some 100 screens and growing, the box office and consumer reception has been tremendous. In the first 10 weeks, over one million people purchased tickets to see the film—this in addition to one million presold tickets before the film opened. And in early surveys, 81% of viewers say they are more likely to visit the USA and nearly 60% say they would choose the United States over another international destination after viewing the film.

This centennial month, the film opened in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Brand USA Chief Communications and Strategy Officer Anne Madison and U.S. Consul General Ricardo Zuniga leading a major premiere event. On August 18, Anne and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Mark Gilbert premiered the film to hundreds in Auckland, and on August 22, I had the privilege of celebrating the film with Ambassador John Berry in Sydney. These premiere events will continue in new major markets such as Europe and India throughout the fall.
 
We are also excited to partner with U.S. embassies in markets far beyond where we have commercial distribution to bring the majesty of our national treasures to a truly global audience. In July, embassies as diverse as those in Romania and Equatorial Guinea made the film a centerpiece of their Independence Day celebrations. This week, the U.S. embassies in Costa Rica and Guatemala are putting on events to use the film in conjunction with the Central America Visit USA roadshow. In the coming weeks and months, other embassies in countries such as Philippines, Croatia, El Salvador, and many more will be putting on their own film events. It is a perfect example of how the public-private partnership on tourism can bring the beauty of our parks around the world and encouraging visitation to the United States like never before.
 
We are thankful to celebrate the centennial of our National Park Service along with our partners and grateful to be able to carry this celebration to a world that is eager to celebrate with us.

There are 100 reasons (and more) to love the National Parks and I encourage you all to join the celebration in wishing the National Park Service a happy birthday.  Check out President Obama’s and the industry’s birthday messages (which includes my birthday wish on behalf of Brand USA) to the National Park Service.  Please also take a look at how our partners at the Department of the Interior are celebrating the day.

Here is to the next 100 years of protecting America’s national treasures for all to enjoy.

 

Chris Thompson
President & CEO