Articles tagged “brand usa”

Brand USA has a difficult task these days of appeasing a White House with unfavorable views of foreigners while still spreading a welcoming message in key international markets.

Brand USA has reported positive returns on investment and built the U.S.’ national tourism marketing operations from the ground up over the past six years. But now one of its most important tasks is ensuring the President -- and his Twitter handle -- don’t derail its momentum.

Congress will play around with Trump's budget and nothing is set in stone. But Brand USA's proposed demise shouldn't come as a surprise from a president who has spent much of his first four months in office imposing anti-tourism policies.

Few other presidents have done as much for the U.S. travel industry as President Obama and by many measures he will hand Donald Trump a healthy and growing industry. But some of the Obama Administration's tourism goals — programs and initiatives — while steps in the right direction, still leave plenty to be desired and require renewed efforts.

Travelers from both Mexico and Germany are beginning to rethink potential travel to the U.S. after last month's election, according to Brand USA officials. The xenophobic tenor of the new administration is creating a global image problem for the U.S. as a travel destination.

Since Canadian tourism to the U.S. has tailed off, Brand USA needs Chinese and Indian travelers to fill the gap and meet the country's tourism goals.

President Obama's goal of bringing 100 million foreign travelers to the U.S. in 2021 may have been too ambitious given global instability and an unexpectedly strong U.S. dollar. The first challenge is to bring back Canadian tourists.

Roger Dow of the U.S. Travel Association said the first decade of the 21st century was the "lost decade," when international travel grew exponentially but visitor arrivals to the U.S. remained relatively flat. Shutting down the visa waiver program in in the wake of terrorist attacks would again halt growth just as numbers begin to show it's working.

Brand USA expects to spend about $140 million marketing the U.S. abroad this fiscal year, but it's still hard to deduce the tangible impact its programs have on stimulating demand for American vacations.

The gorgeous new film from Brand USA will likely encourage families around the world to visit America's national parks.