Last night, Brand USA completed its latest series of agent roadshows in the UK, promoting the Great USA Road Trip. Hundreds of agents in eight cities have been inspired by a host of partners, ranging from Visit California to Travel Texas and Illinois Office of Tourism.

Jackie Ennis, vice-president, global trade development, said: “The catalyst to this European sales mission is the 100th anniversary of Route 66 in 2026.

“Next year will be a year of celebration along that road so it was a great time for us to visit the UK to inspire agents. We’ve met agents through eight cities, really reinforcing the spirit of the open road, and what the American road trip can bring to a visit to the US.”

She urged agents to make use of Brand USA’s trade website, where there are 35 different driving itineraries to provide inspiration and help with trip planning, along with rights-free images and videos to use in marketing materials.

When it was established in 1926, Route 66 was America’s first fully paved highway, stretching almost 2,500 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. The ‘Mother Highway’ passes through eight states – Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The route helped launch the Great American Road Trip, with hundreds of charming small towns to visit along the way.

“There’s not that many people can do 3,800km in one go,” said Ennis. “But it splits easily midway, where you can go from Texas to Santa Monica, or Texas to Chicago.”

Ennis reflected on her own US road tripping experiences: “I once embarked on a seven-week road trip car camping across America, avoiding all interstate highways. I really fell in love with the country, and all its diversity and special places. It’s was one of those trips where you realise it’s the people that make it – and what America is known for, that big welcome.”

She added: “We came across Marfa Texas, where James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor filmed scenes for Dean’s final movie Giant. It was a hole in the wall place 30 years ago and it was fantastic to find that little piece of history and a hidden gem I never even knew existed.

“In Big Bend National Park, we met a couple from Austin. We ran into them again, by chance, in Austin, and they invited us to stay with them. We became lifelong friends – and that started with an American road trip.

“That’s really the messaging in terms of where we are right now, and conveying that message to agents. We’re saying get out there and explore, whether it’s in an RV, on a Harley-Davidson, in a rental car… get out there and discover the US for all its great diversity.”

Market update

As Brand USA and its partners reached the end of their European promotional tour for the Great US Road Trip, President Trump was dominating the headlines with news of his worldwide tariffs. While Ennis presented data showing a strong start to the year for the UK market, and that consumer sentiment to visit the US had remained relatively consistent in the latest market research carried out in January and February, she acknowledged it was a tricky period for the US: “We’re waiting to see what yesterday’s news [about the tariffs] will do to our sentiment study,” she said. “The UK has started 2025 very strongly, 5% up year-on-year. Obviously, these were forward bookings for travel in the first two months of the year but the year has started very well.”

Other trends Ennis highlighted were the fact that transatlantic airlift has been fully restored in the five years since the pandemic, and the UK is by far the largest country for international overseas visitors to the US. Last year, there were 4,037,119 UK visitors to the US, almost two million more than the next market, India, with 2,190,345 visitors. The UK’s average spend per traveller is dwarfed by that of China, however. Ennis also discussed how monthly seat capacity was fairly stable for 2025 vs 2024, while lower rates for shoulder season travel were leading to incremental gains in European countries such as the UK and Italy.

New York’s seat capacity has slightly dipped in 2025 (although not enough to knock it off the top slot) while Boston’s has slightly increased. “We are seeing some great connectivity to destinations that have never previously had direct access, such as Cincinnati with British Airways and Cleveland with Aer Lingus,” she added.

Eight-five per cent of UK travellers visited the US for holidays / leisure in 2024 vs 65.3% in 2019, a clear indication that business travel is rebounding slower since the pandemic.