Travel and tourism is an underrated contributor to our local economy, supporting over 11,000 jobs and generating more than $700 million in visitor spending across Calcasieu Parish in 2018. Our region is a prime example of how the travel industry can be among America’s top economic performers — and not just in the nation’s biggest destinations. But that success doesn’t come without a little bit of help.
Brand USA, the public-private partnership tasked with promoting the United States as a travel destination to visitors abroad, is set to expire in 2020. Brand USA works for Lake Charles, works for Louisiana, and works for America. It is crucial that Congress secure its long-term reauthorization.
Overseas visitors are some of the most lucrative there are, spending an average of about $4,200 per person, per trip. And Brand USA’s mission is to promote destinations to and beyond the “gateway” cities like New York and Los Angeles, ensuring all pockets of America benefit from the economic rewards of international visitation — including Lake Charles. I’m proud to serve on Brand USA’s board of directors as their Treasurer because it’s important for Lake Charles and other lesser-known gems to be in the international tourism conversation.
Looking at America as a whole, travel is our country’s second-largest industry export, generating a trade surplus last year of $69 billion — without which the overall national trade deficit would have been 11 percent higher. However, that positive balance of trade is jeopardized by America’s slipping share of the global travel market, which dropped from 13.7 percent in 2015 to its current 11.7 percent.
That decline represents a difference of 14 million visitors and a hit to the U.S. economy of $59 billion in spending and 120,000 American jobs.
Brand USA’s marketing efforts over the past six years have generated more than 6.6 million incremental international visitors, $22 billion in visitor spending, $47.7 billion in total economic output and supported an average of 52,000 American jobs annually.
Best of all? Brand USA does all its important work at zero cost to the American taxpayer, relying instead on fees paid by ESTA-approved travelers to the United States, plus matching contributions from the private sector. Some of our biggest rivals for international visitors — such as France, Italy, and Spain — heavily fund their tourism promotion budgets using taxpayer dollars; allowing Brand USA to lapse would leave the U.S. severely outmatched.
There is broad private-sector support for Brand USA in all 50 states, with almost 600 businesses and travel organizations signing a letter last year in support of the program’s reauthorization. Brand USA also has strong bipartisan support in Congress: a U.S. House “Dear Colleague” letter in support of Brand USA closed with more than 100 lawmaker signatures, while nearly 50 senators signed a similar “Dear Colleague” letter. The “Brand USA Extension Act” (S. 2203) overwhelmingly passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in July, garnering enthusiastic bipartisan support.
This program is a prime example of smart policymaking, with a proven track record and an impressive return on investment without cost to U.S. taxpayers. It is crucial that Congress recognize travel and tourism’s value to the American economy and to Southwest Louisiana and reauthorize Brand USA this year.
Kyle Edmiston
Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana
Convention & Visitors Bureau president and CEO and Brand USA board of directors treasurer