Brand USA Says It Is Confident It Will Still Be Here in 2018
Photo Credit: Brand USA said it's full speed ahead for its marketing goals this year. Pictured are tourists taking a selfie on a New York City rooftop. Flickr / Nicolas Mirguet
Skift Take
Brand USA is optimistic about its future and is ending its budget year by meeting its partner contributions' goal. But with international visitation in the U.S. continuing to decline, it hopes to get smarter and more strategic with how it spends its marketing dollars in the coming year.
Brand USA, the national destination marketing organization for the United States, may have nine lives.
During a marketing committee conference call Wednesday, Brand USA executives downplayed the prospect that its existence would be terminated despite a provision in the Trump administration's fiscal 2018 budget proposal that called for its funding to be killed. Over the years, Brand USA has also been the target of conservative budget hawks.
However, each Congressional subcommittee that has discussed Brand USA's inclusion in the budget has supported the organization and voted to keep Brand USA fully funded, said Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA.
Prior to the Trump budget proposal, Brand USA had been reauthorized and funded through 2020, said Anne Madison, chief strategy and communications officer. She added that the organization has received tremendous support from the travel industry.
"The president's budget is a statement of priorities an
