Brand USA Opens 2022 Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism
Chris Thompson, Brand USA CEO, highlights international inbound travel recovery efforts and longstanding partnership with Travel Michigan
Traverse City, Michigan (April 21, 2022) – This week, Brand USA, the official destination marketing organization for the United States, joined its partners in Michigan at the 2022 Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. As the opening keynote speaker, Chris Thompson, Brand USA president and CEO, talked about travel recovery efforts and how the organization is helping Travel Michigan welcome back international visitors to boost the state’s economy.
“Tourism is vital to the state of Michigan. In pre-pandemic times, the state saw approximately $1.5 billion in international travel spending, which impacted local communities and businesses alike,” said Thompson. “Understanding the crucial role international tourism has on the state, we’re extremely grateful for our longstanding partnership with Travel Michigan and the opportunity to share Michigan’s story with travelers from around the world.”
During his presentation, Thompson reflected on Brand USA’s efforts and the international travel landscape since U.S. borders reopened in November 2021. He also shared how Brand USA has worked with Travel Michigan for nearly a decade to market the state internationally through multi-channel campaigns, the Global Inspiration Program and by highlighting Michigan as a destination with the travel trade in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico, among other efforts. The latest content Brand USA created to promote Michigan, and is sharing across social platforms globally, tells the story of a father and daughter exploring the Great Lakes region, including Belle Island. This piece of content is part of Brand USA’s award-winning United Stories campaign.
Additional information on Brand USA and its efforts to increase incremental visitation, spend, and market share to the U.S. is available at www.TheBrandUSA.com.
About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
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About Brand USA
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization’s mission is to increase international visitation to the United States in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past ten years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 8 million incremental visitors to the United States, benefiting the U.S. economy with more than $58 billion in total economic impact and supporting, on average, more than 37,000 incremental jobs a year.
For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com. To discover more about the USA and the boundless diversity of American travel experiences and authentic, rich culture, please visit Brand USA’s consumer website VisitTheUSA.com and follow Visit The USA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About GoUSA TV
Because every place has a story. GoUSA TV is a premier travel entertainment channel, available at your fingertips with no subscription, no fees and no logins required. Watch full episodes, documentaries and films, told from the diverse perspectives of real people across America. Download. Escape. Explore. GoUSA TV. GoUSA TV is available for download on your iOS or Android device, or on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung TV Plus.
