WORLD ROUTES: Brand USA Sells America to the World

Brand USA, the United States public-private partnership dedicated to increasing international visitation to the nation through marketing and promotional efforts, served as official tourism partner for this year’s World Routes forum in Las Vegas at the start of October.

Under the arrangement Brand USA’s Air Team USA initiative worked to develop cooperative opportunities to engage tour operators, travel agents and consumers with programs that will increase seat sales and ultimately visitation to the US. Air Team USA plans to work directly with domestic and international airports as well as their local tourism authorities to maximise airline efficiency for flights to and from the USA.

“With the exception of our border countries - Mexico and Canada - all international travellers to the US fly. Routes provides Brand USA a platform for Air Team USA to engage with key influencers and stakeholders in the aviation industry,” Chris Thompson, president and chief executive officer, Brand USA told The HUB. “Brand USA’s new initiative, Air Team USA, was created to give US suppliers the ability to reach the airline industry through cooperative partnerships. As a result of these collective efforts, US suppliers have the opportunity to participate in international aviation events like World Routes Development Forum, which may have otherwise been cost prohibitive.”

Brand USA is responsible for promoting the United States as a premier travel destination and communicating US entry/exit policies and procedures. Established by the Travel Promotion Act in 2010, the organisation’s mission is to increase international visitation to the United States while working in partnership with the travel industry to maximise the economic and social benefits of travel. These benefits include creating jobs essential to the economy and fostering understanding between people and cultures.

You can learn more about the plans of Brand USA from our exclusive World Routes interview with president and chief executive officer, Chris Thompson, below.