International travel markets should find out next year how a new US tourism promotional body intends to distribute its marketing funds.
The newly formed Corporation for Travel Promotion has started its search for a chief executive before deciding on a blueprint for the global marketing of travel to the US.
The corporation’s vice-chairman with responsibility for marketing, NYC & Company chief executive George Fertitta, said he expected that blueprint to be in place next year. “We will be seeing the fruits of this organisation next year, no question,” he said.
US specialist suppliers and marketers in the UK have expressed their hope that funds raised by recently introduced fees to complete the Esta visa waiver process will be reflected in the allocation of significant marketing budgets through the Visit USA Association.
And Fertitta said he was confident the UK would see its fair share of any funding.
“It’s hard for me to comment on the dissemination of funds as that is for the new CEO and the board to decide, but what I can say is the UK will have to have a lot of focus,” he said.
Fertitta said the UK remained a key market for New York, despite an expansion in the number of visitors from Brazil, China, South Korea and India.
And he said he hoped the city would benefit from the tie-up between British Airways and American Airlines, with which it has an $8 million marketing partnership.
“We understand that everybody is conscious of their financial situation at the moment, so we are working on promoting deals that demonstrate the value of visiting, particularly in January and February,” he said.
- More from World Travel Market at travelweekly.co.uk/wtm2010