Speaking to TTG at Brand USA Travel Week Europe in Frankfurt, chief marketing officer Tom Garzilli said the increase came from emergency US Congress funding following a dramatic drop in income when borders closed because of the Covid pandemic.

Brand USA is funded by private sector contributions, such as those from state tourism offices and organisations, with matching funds taken from a portion of the Esta visa waiver programme. 

Garzilli said the reason it had funding issues was because Esta funds were only about 10% of what they were pre-pandemic, resulting in a huge drop in its budget, which is typically $140-150 million per year.

“That’s why we needed the support,” said Garzilli. “Our overall budget has increased by 20-30%. This year and for the next couple of years, we anticipate it will be over $200 million."

Garzilli continued: “That came from the Restore Brand USA Act, in which Congress allowed us to take additional funds out of the Travel Promotion Fund, to use funds previously not available to us. So we’ll use those funds to bolster our budget for multiple years. We’re pretty optimistic.”

Although no new programmes or platforms are being launched, Garzilli said: “We’re expanding the things we know are working. We’re increasing our spending significantly over the next three years.”

The extra money would be used to increase consumer media spend by up to 30%, while it would continue to use its Global Marketplace virtual platform for trade connections – introduced during Covid – in addition to in-person activities.

Brand USA is re-releasing the third of its giant-screen films, Into America’s Wild, as it originally premiered just a month before the US borders were closed, Garzilli added.

Trade and consumer events are being planned around it in the UK, likely to be in early 2023, following on from ones already held in Mexico, Canada and Germany.

He also revealed that there might be a fourth IMAX film. "We’re really, really considering it right now," he said. "There’s lots of great things happening over the next three years that are milestone events such as the 100th anniversary of Route 66 and the 250th anniversary of the US in 2026.”