by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 9:15 PM ET, Thu May 3, 2018
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, has singlehandedly increased visitation to this country by millions, which has led to billions in spending.
A new return on investment (ROI) study conducted by Oxford Economics, which was presented to the Brand USA board of directors this week, showed that since fiscal year 2013 Brand USA's efforts are directly responsible for increasing international visitation by an incremental 5.4 million travelers. What's more, those visitors spent $17.7 billion, which generated a total economic impact of $38.4 billion.
In addition, visitors and their spending supported an average of 51,580 incremental jobs per year, according to the new report.
The study also showed that in fiscal year 2017, Brand USA's marketing campaigns generated 1.16 million incremental international visitors to the United States, with a total economic impact of $8.5 billion. The number of jobs supported by the influx of travelers in 2017 totaled 54,212.
The results equate to a marketing ROI of 29:1 based on Brand USA's marketing expenses of $140 million and incremental international visitor spend of $4.1 billion.
"Travel and tourism is a significant contributor to the U.S. economy, and increasing international visitors to the United States provides new opportunities for growth within the industry. As tourism increases so does the need to service our guests, which drives job creation in all service sectors, including retail, restaurants, and transportation," said Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA.
The ROI study from Oxford Economics included analysis of nine markets - Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the United Kingdom - where Brand USA fully executed consumer, trade outreach, and co-op programs.
Each year, Brand USA deploys a number of market-driven platforms and programs to increase inbound visitor travel to the United States and drive tourism dollars to communities in all 50 states, the five territories, and the District of Columbia.
Brand USA also provided its board of directors this week with initial results on the impact of its film National Parks Adventure.
In-theater research revealed that 20 percent of international viewers plan to visit the USA in the future as a result of seeing "National Parks Adventure."
The first IMAX film ever produced by the organization, 'National Parks Adventure' showcased America through its national parks and became the highest grossing documentary film of 2016, with $44 million in advertising value.
This year the organization revealed a new integrated marketing campaign, "Hear the Music, Experience the USA." Partnering with digital music service Spotify and five emerging artists, Brand USA's newest icampaign seeks to showcase the unique cultural sounds of a handful of American cities.
The organization also recently launched a new website aimed at international travel professionals, designed to provide the inspiration and information needed to book travel to the United States.
Brand USA has long expressed confidence in America's tourism industry, even amid concerns about a so-called "Trump Slump" and predictions from the UN World Tourism Organization that Spain would soon replace the United States as the world's second-most popular tourist destination.
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