Brand USA funding bill

BRAND USA is a step closer to being reauthorised, with a bill to reinstate funding for the country’s destination marketing organisation through 2027 being passed by the US Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation last month.

The organisation’s future funding was axed by the Trump administration in Feb 2018, to be redeployed into border controls under a budget cap deal.

Under the bill, the previous $14 Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee - paid by travellers arriving from visa waiver program countries - would reportedly be raised to $21.

A new fee structure would see $4 go to Customs and Border Protection, $7 to Brand USA, which would max out at $100 million and the remaining $10 to the general fund.

The new structure would see Brand USA receive $3 less per ESTA fee, but the amount going to Customs and Border Protection remain the same.

Tori Barnes, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy of the US Travel Association, which lobbies on behalf of Brand USA said the timing of the bill was crucial.

“Travel’s economic benefits are threatened by a declining share of the global travel market, which dropped from 13.7% in 2015 to its current 11.7%—a decline that represents a difference of 14 million visitors, a hit to the economy of $59 billion in spending and 120,000 American jobs,” Barnes said.

“This bill is vital to ensuring the future of America’s travel planning and promotion—and the livelihoods of the 15.7 million Americans whose jobs are supported by this industry.”

The funding for Brand USA was set to expire in 2020.