National Tour Association (NTA) President Pam Inman released a statement regarding President Donald Trump’s proposed budget and the possible elimination of Brand USA.
The statement is as follows:
“The federal budget for fiscal year 2018 proposed by the White House includes the elimination of Brand USA. This action would not only be a detriment to the United States’ travel and tourism industry, but it also would negatively impact the $2.3 trillion that travel and tourism generate, as well as the 15 million jobs the industry supports.
“Brand USA is a bipartisan program that receives no funding from U.S. taxpayers. This program is instead financed through a combination of private-sector investment and matched by fees collected from international travelers visiting the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program.
Brand USA is an organization focused solely on promoting the United States as a travel destination and communicating U.S. entry policies.
“According to studies conducted by Oxford Economics over the past three years, Brand USA has brought more than 3 million additional international visitors to the U.S., benefitting the economy with more than $21 billion in business sales and supporting an annual average of nearly 50,000 jobs that, without Brand USA’s efforts, would not exist.
“It would be a mistake for the United States government to no longer market our nation as a top worldwide travel destination, especially considering that international travel is one of the United States’ top exports. It is our hope that Congress, by declining this piece of the administration’s budget proposal, will rightfully recognize the key role that travel and tourism play, in not only the U.S. economy, but also in the millions of jobs the industry supports.”
