ITTN at Brand USA Travel Week UK & Europe 2024

Fred Dixon, Brand USA President & CEO highlighted that “this is a record turnout with 216 tour operators, 74 media as well as 350 destinations and supplier partners.”. With 2024 hosted in London, he confirmed that next year would see London as host once more.

Fred shared the message for the future, that he was “beyond thrilled and excited for all that we are going to do together in the months and the years ahead.“

Not Just One Destination But A Multitude of Opportunities for Travel

My first trip to the United States was SXSW in Texas over two decades ago. In fact, my journey into travel journalism also started in the US during a fam trip to Philly. I have been back many times, both as a journalist and tourist. I have seen New York and Miami, Boston and Naples, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Worth, Washington and New Jersey. I have travelled to Connecticut, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati in Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Upstate New York, Denver and Dallas… I’ve cruised from Florida and twined a city break with a sun vacation. I have been very fortunate to see more than most and there is still so much more to see.

It’s easier to see the United States not as a single destination but each state as almost a country in itself, like we would view Europe, with a personality and identity of its own. It’s not one destination to visit but a huge range of destinations to explore and we, as a country, have never had this level of direct access across North America.

I am at Brand USA Travel Week UK & Europe 2024, here to find out more about the United States and inbound travel trends, insights and expectations for the market over the next decade.

Angelina Barnes, Managing Editor for Euronews Business

Angelina Barnes, Managing Editor for Euronews Business extended a warm welcome at the inaugural event of the Brand USA Travel Week UK & Europe 2024 running from 21-24 October.

Like me, this is her first Brand USA Travel week and she highlighted how it “has become a poignant fixture on your calendar… because it’s such a rare opportunity to have so many passionate U.S Specialists together in one place”.

Brand USA Travel Week has continued to grow and involve, sharing significant tourism trends across global, national and segmented audiences alongside a thought-provoking program stretching across the schedule. She shared, “Travel week is also an opportunity to address and share challenges and optimistic messages that inspire travel to the USA while exploring iconic destinations and smaller towns “Beyond the Gateway” ’.

With a packed agenda, Angelina highlighted this is set “against the backdrop of a destination that offers more variety and diversity of experience and geography than any other place on the planet.”

Furthermore, notable events on the horizon include the FIFA World Cup in 2026, Route 66 celebrating one hundred years and the LA Olympics in 2028.

Fred Dixon, Brand USA President & CEO

Fred Dixon, Brand USA President & CEO, was warmly welcomed to the stage and he opened the week’s events with a clear vision of Brand USA’s strategy, the steps he has taken in the first three months of his new role and the plan for the future.

2025 Setting New Records for Inbound Visitation to the USA

“Ahead to 2025, and once again, setting new records for inbound visitation. It marks a new day for the industry as we no longer really are talking about recovery. We’re talking about new records and of course for this organisation building the a foundational strengths of our past and all the work that has begun to forge a brand new Brand USA equipped to meet this moment.”

United States as the No. 1 Long-Haul Destination in the World

“The blueprint for this journey is being formed by the industry and deep dives into market analytics and the current competitive climate. I’ve been able to meet with many of you across the industry and will continue to hold listening, tours and sessions over the many months ahead. I am always available and I want your input. I welcome all of your ideas and your engagement. It is essential that this work being collaborative in service to our greater shared goals.”

“So how we work together to create a new era of global travel… how do we build on the foundations that have been set to maximise the opportunities ahead of us? Why the Competitive Edge the United States has us as the number one, long-haul destination in the world.”

Expanded Brand USA’s Leadership Team

Fred Dixon’s first order was to expand Brand USA’s leadership team, and it’s been an exciting few weeks. Brand USA announced several new additions to its leadership team. These four senior-level hires all report to President and CEO Fred Dixon and join other long-serving, senior leaders at the organization including Donald Richardson, Chief Financial Officer; Aaron Wodin-Schwartz, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer; Jake Conte, Senior Vice President & General Counsel; and Monica Lopez, Chief of Staff & Culture who recently joined in September from Fred Dixon’s former organisation, NYC Tourism + Conventions.

Speaking about the new appointments, Fred Dixon added “I’m thrilled to have their experience, creativity and collaborative spirit and work for all of us. His expanded leadership team is going to work hand in hand to build short medium and long-term strategies to grow US market share to strengthen [Brand USA’s] organisation and create opportunities for all of you in the future.”

“We know there’s a huge opportunity to grow our storytelling capabilities and media relations. So we’re building a new internal team dedicated to PR and reputation management. This is an immediate focus in one of the biggest opportunities for Brand USA to better showcase the US.”

With the new team, the strategy is to further invest in areas like team culture, strategic partnerships, global communications, AI and innovation, trade, product development and MICE.

AI & Innovation

Fred highlighted, when it comes to AI and innovation, we all recognise the landscape is rapidly changing.

“I’m very interested in how we stay ahead of that curve. How we are more best-in-class, training and embracing technologies but also how we help lead the industry through this evolution to the goal of enhancing partnerships, increasing market and effectiveness in consumer engagement to ultimately increase bookings and conversions and improve the visitor experience.”

“There Are Opportunities for Everyone Here”

“We all know how important the trade committee is through our success and I’m proud of [the] great work this team has done to build out our global relationships and programs and engagement, continuing to build upon and expand this work is very important as we grow the business for the future. Focusing more on product development to drive travellers deeper into communities throughout the country is going to be a key priority. New initiatives to attract international meetings and events will also be a top priority.”

A Broad Range of Markets such as Booming Sector of Youth & Amateur Sports

This includes market segments like corporate, manufacturing tours, agritourism and sporting events, including the professional sports and also “the booming sector of Youth and amateur sports that hold events and destinations of every size and scale. There’s opportunities for everyone here…”

Decade of events to “capture the world’s attention”

“So these are ambitious goals and we believe the right strategies to advance a new brand USA, and our team is excited to get started.”

With a decade of events to “capture the world’s attention” such as:

World Pride in Washington DC, 2025
America 250, across the US but especially the Northeast, 2025
100th Anniversary of Route 66, 2026
FIFA World Cup, Summer 2026
Olympics, LA 2028
Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, Salt Lake City Utah, 2034

The USA will be the centre of sports culture and entertainment over the next decade giving ten years of even more inspiration to cross the pond.