TORONTO — Resilience, determination and even optimism. That’s what attendees tuning in to Brand USA’s board meeting heard yesterday.

The summer update from America’s destination marketing organization came with the knowledge that U.S. tourism has seen tough times before, and no doubt will again. The U.S. travel industry will always rise up to meet any challenge, no matter what.

There was no doom and gloom, no anger or even frustration – which certainly would have been understandable given Brand USA’s recent budget cut at the hands of the U.S. administration, from US$100 million to $20 million.

Not to mention the April 2025 firing of five board members.

Instead Brand USA’s CEO Fred Dixon and his team communicated a can-do attitude perfectly in keeping with the best of America and its people.

“We are not standing still,” said Dixon.

“We have a smaller board. We’re an operational board,” he said. “Like you, we were disappointed by the funding cut, from $100 million to $20 million. That is a big shift and that will require reallocation of resources. However we’re encouraged by our ongoing dialogue with all levels of the federal government … and we have a strong and unified voice in those conversations. Our work absolutely continues apace.”

“OUR COMMITMENT TO CANADA REMAINS STRONG”

“We’ve been through a lot since April,” said Dixon.

Not only were five board members unceremoniously fired, but Brand USA also lost Director, Global Trade Development (Canada) for Brand USA, Casey Canevari.

“If you knew him, he was an incredibly valued partner. We continue to hold him in our hearts. The outpouring of support for him has been remarkable,” said Dixon.

Canevari passed away May 1 in Toronto following Canada Connect East. Brand USA’s April board meeting took place just before Canada Connect East and West.

“Despite some discouraging headlines, what we saw on the ground was extraordinary enthusiasm from the trade. Our commitment to Canada remains strong,” said Dixon.

WILL RECOVERY COME IN TIME FOR ‘AMERICA 250’ IN 2026?

Next year is a big one for Brand USA and its tourism partners across the country. The U.S. will be celebrating its 250th anniversary with America 250, plus there’s the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Route 66 Centennial.

Dixon added that he’s especially optimistic about America the Beautiful, the new promotional campaign launched at IPW 2025 and designed to win over international travellers.

Brand USA is going big on America the Beautiful. So much so that soon AmericaTheBeautiful.com will replace VisitTheUSA.com as Brand USA’s consumer-facing URL, said Dixon.

There was no reason to believe 2026 wouldn’t be a banner year for the U.S. Instead the country is facing a downturn in visitation. Will the rebound come in time?

“We have an opportunity to reaffirm the U.S. as the number one travel destination in the world,” said Dixon. x

Another question: can Brand USA even turn a negative into a positive? The marketing team thinks so. “We know that the world is watching the U.S. right now. That can be a powerful asset. We need to understand traveller motivators to meet this moment.”

FORECAST DROP FOR CANADA IN 2025: 20%

With 2026 on the horizon, Brand USA is also focused on its latest 2025 visitation data.

Total U.S. inbound visitation for January-April 2025 was down 1.1% year over year. Canada saw a “steep decline,” down 14.5%, while Mexico was up 15.4%.

Excluding Canada and Mexico, overseas visitation was down 1.2% in the first six months of 2025, for a total of 15.9 million overseas visitors.

Looking at the U.S. international travel forecast, Tourism Economics predicts 66.5 million inbound international visitors in 2025, down 8.2% from 2024. Growth is expected to resume in 2026 with 68.8 million visitors forecast for 2026, and 73.1 million in 2027.

Canada and Mexico remain the top two source markets for the U.S., by a significant margin.

In 2025 vs. 2024, the forecast drop from the Canadian market is 20%, to 16.145 million visitors.

Inbound airlift to the U.S. continues to strengthen, with the country posting record levels of nonstop seat capacity and connectivity: 262 origin airports; 103 origin countries; and 163 million nonstop seats.

When it comes to the U.S.’s top 10 markets for nonstop seat capacity in 2025, the UK (-1%) and Canada (-2%) are the only international markets showing slight declines in seats.

Brand USA is also keenly focused on consumer sentiment towards the U.S. and interest in international travel, and watching for signs of stabilization.

Asked ‘In the next 12 months, what country or countries will you visit on your international holiday,’ the percentage of survey respondents who said ‘The United States’ was trending slightly up, at 25% in June 2025, up from 23% in April 2025. The average percentage for 2023 and 2024 was 29%.

The U.S. is also so far maintaining its number one spot as the destination international visitors are most likely to want to visit globally, based on a 10 market average.

As Brand USA concluded in its slide deck at yesterday’s meeting, “The eyes of the world are on the United States. We need to direct that attention to what the world loves most about the U.S. But first, we need to recognize the current landscape and to inform our strategy and plan.”