Brand USA Newsletter - March 2017

Letter From the President & CEO

Dear Partners,

Our world and the U.S. tourism industry are facing uncertainty. Brand USA’s mandate, as the nation’s destination marketing organization, is as essential now as ever. We are not a political organization, nor a lobbying organization. We are a marketing organization and our singular mission is to market the USA to international travelers and communicate the visa and entry policies put in place by our Federal partners.  

In fact, there is more recognition today than ever before that travel and tourism are significant sources of fueling our nation’s economy, creating jobs and helping to connect people and cultures for greater understanding.  

We believe the combination of our marketing efforts and all the USA has to offer travelers will continue to inspire visitors from around the world to travel throughout our diverse and remarkable country. What makes the USA an aspirational destination hasn’t changed.  

Our marketing efforts have increased international travel to the United States and fueled our country’s economy. Over the past three years, the campaigns and initiatives we have launched together with our partners have helped welcome more than 3 million incremental visitors to the USA, infused our nation’s economy with more than $21 billion in total economic impact and, on average, supported 50,000 jobs a year.

As we continue in Fiscal Year 2017, we are excited about a number of events and initiatives coming up in the weeks and months ahead.

Inside Travel Video Series

We have been working with CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg to produce a monthly “newsmaker” series featuring Brand USA management, leadership from partner organizations, as well as other key industry and opinion leaders. Each episode of the series is used to showcase Brand USA’s positive impact on international visitation and spend to the USA, as well as travel trends and topics important to our brands and destinations. Keep an eye out for the monthly series to hit your inbox.  

This month, we produced a special report focused on visa and entry policy. You can view that episode here. Additionally, we have updated our message points, which can be found here for your reference and use. These message points are designed to be used to emphasize the importance of being secure and welcoming, and to communicate Brand USA’s primary role and commitment to market the USA and inform travelers about visa and entry policy. The message points and the video also reinforce the core marketing premise that the USA is a premier destination that offers opportunity and diversity in destinations and experiences, as well as people who appreciate and welcome international travelers. 

U.S.—India Travel and Tourism Partnership Year 

Brand USA celebrated the opening of the 2017 U.S.—India Travel and Tourism Partnership Year. The event occurred during the same week as the annual South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) travel trade show in New Delhi, India and was attended by more than 200 leading tourism and media executives and government officials from India and the United States. The Partnership Year is designed to bring the private sector together to improve connectively, build bridges, and open dialogues to create and maximize opportunities to increase travel and tourism between our two countries. The Partnership Year events and platforms are meant to elevate and amplify the marketing and promotional efforts of destinations across the USA.

March Events

I joined industry colleagues at the Destination Marketing Association International’s (DMAI) Spirit of Hospitality celebration on March 1. One of Brand USA’s board members, Rossi Ralenkotter, is recipient of the inaugural DMO Leadership Award. Rossi has been an influential member of the travel industry for over 40 years. His institutional knowledge and guidance on our board of directors are invaluable and he is a leader deserving of such an honor.

Brand USA attended ITB, the world’s largest tourism convention, in Berlin, Germany. This trade show is always an excellent opportunity for Brand USA to join our partners in showcasing the diverse travel options across the USA to over 180,000 trade, media, and consumer participants.  

In addition, Brand USA participated in TravMedia’s International Media Marketplaces (IMM) in Sydney, Australia; Berlin, Germany; and London, England.  IMM is a leading media show connecting travel journalists with the travel and tourism industry.

We are expanding our travel sales missions in 2017, adding Japan and South Korea to our schedule that already includes China and India. We are adding three cities to the China trade mission and another city onto our India trade mission. The trade missions allow our supplier partners to meet the travel trade in each country as a way to boost international visitation to the USA.

Thank you for ongoing support of Brand USA. I look forward to our mutual success in the months ahead.

Together, we are marketing the USA!