Brand USA putting $200 million toward 100 million visitors goal
Skift Take
When it comes to attracting international visitors, the U.S. has few allies and it is every country for itself. Our answer to the challenge is Brand USA on a federal level, and it remains to be seen whether it will be more effective than state and city destination marketing organizations doing it all on their own.
Brand USA, the official marketing arm of U.S. tourism, aims to trigger $100 million in federal matching funds in 2013 as it pushes its goal of increasing the country's global-tourism market share, and points toward 100 million visitors entering the country's borders by 2021.
U.S. market share of global tourism, as measured in share of long-haul flights stood at 17% in 2000, but was down to 12.4% in 2011, and the two-year-old Brand USA is charged with helping to execute a turnaround.
With 66.5 million international visitors arriving in the U.S. in 2012, Brand USA has its hands full in trying to capture an increased share of travelers from emerging markets such as India and China. Brand USA will have to make some breakthroughs if the U.S. is to cross that 100 million annual visitor thre
