Support Re-Authorization of Brand USA

International tourism means big business in the United States.

In 2018, nearly 80 million international visitors traveled to the United States, generating a total of nearly $1.1 trillion dollars for our economy.

That visitor spending directly supported 8.9 million jobs, more than 80 percent of which are small or independently owned businesses.

Additionally, international visitors generated $268 billion in payroll income and injected $171 billion into local, regional, state and federal economies by way of tax revenues.

Visiting American Indian Communities

Nearly two million overseas travelers to the U.S. reported visiting an American Indian community, according to research collected by the National Travel & Tourism Office. These visitors brought incremental revenue to Native American communities across the nation, from Alaska to Hawaii, New York to California and all points in between.

Vulnerable Industry 

Inbound tourism is a vulnerable industry.

There is fierce competition for every single visitor dollar, as every nation in the world competes to increase its share of the tourism pie.

From 2015, the U.S. has seen its share of international visitor traffic slip from 13.7% to 11.7%. That decline comes with a hard cost–a loss of 14 million visitors, which translates to 120,000 fewer American jobs.

Brand USA

Enter Brand USA, the organization charged with marketing the U.S. as an international travel destination. The public-private partnership promotes all regions of the U.S.–well beyond the most-popular gateway cities—making it a perfect partner for Indian Country.

While the U.S. saw its share of international visitors dip, the efforts of Brand USA have helped slow that decline.

According to a study by Oxford Economics, Brand USA’s marketing efforts over the past six years have generated:

  • 6.6 million incremental international visitors to the U.S.
  • $22 billion in visitor spending.
  • $47.7 billion total economic impact.
  • Support for an average of 52,000 incremental American jobs every year.

Since AIANTA teamed up with Brand USA to jointly promote Indian Country to Italian visitors, visitors from Italy to Indian Country have more than doubled.

Now, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are getting ready to vote to re-authorize Brand USA.

In the Senate, the bi-partisan Senate Bill  S.2203, calling for the reauthorization of Brand USA through 2027, has been introduced by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and co-sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Similarly, in the House of Representatives,  H.R.3851 has been introduced by Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) and co-sponsored by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Billy Long (R-MO-7), Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR-2), Rep. Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1), Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-MP-At Large) and Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-9).

 

Take Action

“The renewal of Brand USA is critical to driving American jobs and exports, as well as travelers throughout the country,” said U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow. “This is smart policymaking in support of a proven program that will help sustain our economic expansion for years to come without cost to taxpayers.”

As both Chambers of Congress get ready to vote, AIANTA encourages Tribal enterprises and other interested parties to contact their local elected representatives and weigh in on the importance of Brand USA. Letting your voice be heard is as simple as completing this form sponsored by the Power of Travel Coaltion.

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Contact: Monica Poling, AIANTA
mpoling@aianta.org, (505) 724-3578