Brand USA delivers ROI

US TRAVEL Association boss Roger Dow has emphasised the importance of America’s destination marketing company in the face of President Trump’s plan to cut funding of Brand USA ( TD 24 May), writing to US House and Senate committee members to reiterate its significant impact.

“Brand USA is an outstanding performer from an ROI [Return On Investment] standpoint, and hamstringing this successful public-private partnership would be a bad move for our economy,” Dow commented.

“The value Brand USA adds is simply phenomenal, it’s all done without a dime of taxpayer money. Millions of visitors who would not have come here otherwise have visited the US because of Brand USA’s marketing campaigns, and they’ve added billions to the US economy.”

Speaking in Washington DC at the US Travel Association’s annual tradeshow, IPW, Brand USA ceo Chris Thompson said any change “would have a direct impact on travel and tourism” to the US.

Thompson said he was confident Brand USA’s budget from the US government would remain intact, highlighting the results of an independent analysis of the organisation’s ROI over the last four years had delivered over 4 million additional visitors, nearly US$14 in additional spending and around 51,000 additional US jobs.

MEANWHILE, Skal International USA has overnight pledged its support for the organisation, saying Brand USA has performed “an effective job in growing the inbound travel market”.

Skal International USA president Holly Powers said “In the last year alone, we have seen an additional economic impact of US$8.2 billion from the travel industry, allowing it to continue as America’s leading export”.