A year on from US borders reopening, Brand USA senior vice-president for public affairs Aaron Wodin-Schwartz says the transatlantic relationship is as robust as ever
Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song
And I’ll try not to sing out of key…
A year on from the reopening of US borders to international travellers, the global travel recovery is well underway. According to the US Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office, some 2.5 million Britons have visited the United States from January through September of this year, which is just under 70% of the volume from the same period in 2019.
Air service between our countries has also recovered to 75% of pre-pandemic levels, including as high as 90% for the upcoming holiday season, according to data from Sabre.
Yet there is perhaps no country more emblematic than the UK of the tension between a robust recovery and the onset of very real headwinds. We see a manifest demonstration that travel is a top priority not soon to be sacrificed even as we know that political turmoil, high inflation, and a declining pound are eating into consumer purchasing power and besieging the mood of the country.
The strong showing by UK travelers is due at least in part to the efforts of Brand USA throughout the pandemic as well as the resiliency of the travel industry overall. And now is the time to redouble our efforts. Award-winning campaigns like United Stories, memorable travel shows on GoUSA TV and compelling influencer programming will continue to be critical tools to inspire travel to the USA. We continue to facilitate enhanced travel offerings through tour operator co-ops, innovative programmes like Brand USA Travel Week UK and Europe, and the relaunch of our mega-familiarisation tour programme.
British visitors have a longstanding affinity for US culture and our myriad travel experiences. We find them only slightly sensitive to political and economic headwinds and more likely to adjust expenditures than cancel a trip outright. Besides which, we understand the innate human desire to spread our wings and our minds in new surroundings.
The United States is well situated to help travellers realise this deep-seated need because it is the place generations have treasured for its unique power to expand possibilities and crystalise dreams.
Picture yourself at a dusk bonfire as banjo cords waft through your ears and the sweet bite of Kentucky bourbon delights your tongue. Or the deepest blue sky throwing into sharp relief the mesa-top, adobe settlement at Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, where Native people carry on the traditions of their ancestors like iconic pottery making and tribal celebrations. Or set out by snowshoe into a pristine Montana field of fresh snow in search of foraging bands of antelope and elk.
We know things are a bit dour at the moment. But during this winter of discontent, we invite all Brits to find their glorious summer in the USA. Or to at least take the advice of a wise Scouser to… get by with a little help from your friends.