Trump talk kicks off IPW 2017 in Washington D.C.

“You can print this. Brand USA is here to stay. Simple as that.”

That was the message Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association had for media at a morning press conference in Washington D.C. yesterday (June 5) at IPW 2017, an annual U.S. travel trade show and marketplace.

Brand USA, a federally-funded organization dedicated to marketing the U.S. overseas as a travel destination, and premier partner of IPW, currently faces elimination as U.S. President Donald Trump aims to eliminate the deficit while shifting funding to border security, reports say.

Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

Dow told the press he finds it “perplexing” that the elimination of Brand USA is even on the table, especially when Mick Mulvaney, director of the office of management and budget and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross both originally supported the program.

Dow noted that Brand USA was responsible for adding $8.9 billion to the U.S. economy last year.

“International visitation is our country’s number two export, supporting millions of jobs, which is why Brand USA is more relevant today than ever before," Dow told a room full of journalists at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, which is hosting IPW from now until June 7.

PAX is currently on location in the U.S. capital covering the intense four-day travel event, which serves as an international marketplace to more than 6,300 buyers, suppliers and media (an estimated 500 journalists) from more than 70 countries around the globe.

It’s a massive event that, as Dow pointed out, is expected to generate $4.7 billion in travel bookings to the U.S.

This year marks the first time IPW has been held in Washington D.C., allowing organizers to give the historical city “the biggest stage and brightest light” in promoting it to the rest of the country and the world, Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, told media.

All week long, registered participants will attend pre-scheduled business appointments and shake hands with reps from 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region of the United States representing all industry categories.

IPW attendees fill Washington's Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Sunday night (June 4).

The event officially kicked off Sunday night (June 4) at a lively gala held at the popular Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (one of the most visited Smithsonian museums) and the National Mall.

For media, the week has so far included Washington D.C.-related press trips, as well as a welcome brunch at Washington’s popular Newseum last Sunday morning.

On the Trump situation involving Brand USA, Thompson was pragmatic in addressing concerns over President Trump’s vision for America and how Brand USA, and U.S. travel for that matter, fits into it.

“What we’re experiencing right now is really no different than any time we welcome a new administration,” Thompson said. “A new president is coming off a campaign trail, he’s made promises and assurances of what he wants to do. In this case, the president’s focus was on changing policy that directly affects travel. That has created challenges.”

Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA.

Thompson called it a “perception versus reality issue” and that it’s about how Brand USA manages the damage posed by propaganda.

“Our relevance and who we are as our nation’s storyteller… gives us a unique opportunity to tell people about what is the actual change in travel policy versus perceived changes,” Thompson said. “We’re watching an administration come on board to deal with that, but we’re also making sure the accurate message of what has happened is communicated."

Yesterday’s presser also gave media chance to preview Brand USA’s next giant-screen film, America's Treasures – a follow-up to the agency’s 2016 award-winning documentary National Parks Adventure, which was produced by two-time Academy Award nominated producers MacGillivray Freeman Films and narrated by Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Robert Redford.

America's Treasures will focus on local culture and experiences throughout the U.S., as told through the language of music, Thompson said. 

Singer Aloe Blacc (left) and film producer Shaun MacGillivray.

The film follows singer Aloe Blacc (who spoke to media alongside film producer Shaun MacGillivray) as he travels across the U.S. to meet other musicians while exploring local life in destinations such as New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Nashville, Memphis and New York City.

America's Treasures is currently in production and is scheduled to premiere in February 2018.

Stay tuned as PAX brings you more on location coverage from IPW 2017 in Washington D.C.!