He rejoins the association after nearly a decade of association leadership—first as president and chief of the American Gaming Association and as the current president and chief of the Consumer Brands Association. He will join US Travel on 1 September.

In his previous leadership role at US Travel, Freeman’s work led to the industry’s signature bipartisan legislative victory establishing the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 and creating Brand USA.

He succeeds Roger Dow, who is stepping down following a 17-year tenure as leader of the organisation.

Christine Duffy, national chair of the US Travel Association and president of Carnival Cruise Line, said: "We are proud to welcome Geoff Freeman back to lead the US Travel Association.

"Geoff is highly regarded in Washington and well known across our industry for his strategic work to conceive campaigns and programmes that opened new pathways for growth in the travel economy."

Freeman said he is "eager to get to work" on behalf of the industry, which has "long held a special place for me".

"There are few industries more essential to the nation’s economy, more connected to consumers and more critical to bringing Americans together than the travel industry," he continued.