Congress is close to agreement on the Travel Promotion, Enhancement and Modernization Act

The Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act (S. 2250) is legislation to reauthorize Brand USA, a successful travel promotion program aimed at boosting international tourism to the United States. “Travel and tourism” are two words that every restauranteur pay close attention to because they have a profound impact on restaurants.  People tend to spend more money when traveling and a large portion of that money spent is on dining out.  They also tend to splurge on higher priced items instead of looking for the early bird specials.

What is Brand USA?

Brand USA is a global marketing program to promote the USA as an international travel destination. The program is funded at no cost to the taxpayer through private sector contributions matched by fees collected from international visitors through the Visa Waiver Program.  A recent study by Oxford Economics, estimates that Brand USA attracted 1.1 million additional visitors to the U.S. in 2013.

International travel and tourist statistics to the United States

$1 out of every $4 spent in restaurants comes from a traveler or tourist and international tourists play a significant role.  The US Department of Commerce reported that $15.4B was spent on travel and tourism activities to the United States from other countries in the month of March 2014.  It’s estimated that each overseas visitor to the United States spends an average of $4,300 in the country.