Brand USA: 10+ Years of Fighting for Funding
Photo Credit: Tourists walking on the Brooklyn Bridge. Pexels / M I N E I A M A R T I N S
Skift Take
Ever since its creation in 2010 to be the country's destination marketing organization, Brand USA has faced potential cuts and even threats of elimination.
The White House fired five of Brand USA's 11 board members on Friday, including the board Chair Elliott Ferguson, who is also CEO of Destination DC.
As of Monday, it was still unclear why they were fired, and what the plan is for installing new members. The board is appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce with input from the U.S. Secretaries of State and Homeland Security.
Ever since its creation in 2010 to be the country's destination marketing organization, Brand USA has faced potential cuts and even threats of elimination. Brand USA's funding comes from private sector contributions, including from state and local destination marketing organizations, and the federal government matches up to $100 million per year. The matching funds come from U.S. visa application fees.
March 2010: The Launch of Brand USA
President Obama signed the 2009 Travel Promotion Act in March 2010, which created the Corporation for Travel Promotion — a public-private partnership geared toward marketing the U.S. as a tourism destination to international visitors. It began operating as Brand USA in May 2011.
May 2011: Brand USA Gets a CEO
Jim Evans, a former CEO of Best Western International, was the first CEO of Brand USA. He stepped down in June 2012. Caroline Beteta then served as Brand USA's interim CEO. Brand USA named Christopher L. Thompson its president and CEO in late 2012. Thompson had previously held those two roles at Visit Florida.
March 2013: Brand USA's $200 Million Funding Target
Brand USA said in its 2013 marketing plan that it envisions increasing its private contributions from $60 million in 2012 to $100 million in 2013, which would trigger a 1:1 match by the federal government of another $100 million. The organization also said it was aiming to attract 100 million annual visitors by 2021.
However, Skift reported that the Office of Management Budget calculated that Brand USA's federal matching funds would be reduced 5.1% to around $95 million because of mandatory budget cuts.
April 2014: Proposed Republican Budget Would Kill Brand USA
Then-House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan unveiled a $1.014 trillion budget plan that would eliminate Brand USA and end Amtrak's operating subsidies, among other measures.
"This budget recommends ending these subsidies and eliminating the new agency because it is not a core responsibility of the federal government to pay for and conduct advertising campaigns for any industry," an excerpt from the proposed budget said.
"Moreover, the travel industry can and should pay for the advertising that it benefits from."
December 2014: Brand USA's Reauthorization
Brand USA won a new lease on life when President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion government spending bill that prevented a government shutdown and officially reauthorized Brand USA through 2020.
June 2016: Brand USA Acknowledges Difficulties in Reaching Goals
Brand USA said its stated goal of bringing 100 million visitors to the U.S. by 2021 may not happen. A major factor, according to vice president of Research and Analytics Carroll Rheem, was a decline in Canadian arrivals due to the strong U.S. dollar.
May 2017: Brand USA's Possible Elimination Under Trump's Budget
The U.S. Travel Association confirmed that President Trump's fiscal 2018 budget called for the elimination of Brand USA.
"It’s especially perplexing that the elimination of Brand USA is on the table when both Commerce Secretary Ross and [Office of Management and Budget] Director Mulvaney each have supported it previously," said then-U.S. Travel Association CEO Travel Roger Dow.
July 2017: Brand USA's Declining Contributions
The organization's partner cash contributions were down $6.7 million year-to-date through April 2017 compared to the first four months of 2016. In-kind contributions, or donations of non-cash goods or services that assist Brand USA with its marketing campaigns and programs, had also decreased, and were $4.7 million less than the same period the previous year.
Chief Financial Officer Donald Richardson said Brand USA was expecting to be about $2 million under budget for fiscal 2017.
September 2017: Brand USA Expresses Confidence About Its Future
Brand USA executives downplayed the prospect that the organization would be terminated.
"The president's budget is a statement of priorities and the power of purse lies in hands of Congress," said Chief Strategy and Communications Officer Anne Madison during a marketing committee conference call, adding Brand USA had received a lot of support in the travel industry. "We feel very confident about our future."
June 2019: Brand USA's Path Forward
Skift reported that a Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the Brand USA Extension Act, a proposed bill that would reinstate funding for the organization through 2027, with a full Senate vote to come later.
As part of a budget cap deal passed by Congress in February 2018 to avert a government shutdown, Brand USA's funding source was diverted to a general revenue fund.
December 2019: Congress Renews Brands USA's Funding
Congress renewed funding for Brand USA as part of a $1.4 trillion spending package that President Trump signed to avoid a government shutdown.
While the cost per traveler of the U.S. visa waiver program increased from $14 to $21, the allocation of that amount to Brand USA would decrease from $10 to $7, maxing out at $100 million per year. In addition to the $100 million from the government, the private sector would continue to contribute to Brand USA's funding.
March 2022: Brand USA Receives Injection of Funding
The Biden administration signed the Restoring Brand USA Act, which approved $250 million in funding for the organization. The funding boost came amid the U.S travel industry's struggles to recover from the pandemic. The U.S. had 2.15 million inbound international arrivals in February 2022, a 53.7% drop compared to 2019 levels, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.
July 2023: CEO Chris Thompson Announces He's Stepping Down
Thompson said he would step down as president and CEO of Brand USA.
April 2024: Brand USA's New CEO
Brand USA announced that Fred Dixon, head of NYC Tourism + Conventions since 2014, would be its next CEO, starting his new role on July 15. Dixon oversaw New York City's tourism recovery from the pandemic and he helped NYC Tourism secure $30 million in American Rescue Plan funds from the federal government to market the city.
April 2025: 5 Brand USA Board Members Abruptly Fired
Five Brand USA board members, including the board chair, were abruptly fired. The five board members relieved of their Brand USA board duties were: Chair Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC; Vice Chair Lauren Bailey, CEO of Upward Projects; Kristen Esposito, principal of Esposito Global Partners; Secretary Allen Orr, founder of Orr Immigration Law; and Tim Mapes, chief marketing and communications officer at Delta Air Lines.
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