The U.S. has lost $94 billion in visitor spending as
inbound traffic from abroad declined 17% between 2001 and 2005, according to the Commerce Dept. As the only industrialized country without a national tourism brand, Uncle Sam is competing against
countries that spend much more and in many instances have government-subsidized campaigns.
The initiative was jump-started when the Commerce Dept. handed the travel trade group $3.9 million in February to build a self-sustaining marketing tool for U.S. tourism within two years. The deal requires the TIA -- which is comprised of more than 2,100 companies from every travel category -- to match 25% of the award value with cash and in-kind contributions.
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