In an attempt to drive U.S. visitation amid a downturn in inbound travel, Brand USA will launch a tourism campaign this August called “America the Beautiful.”

Fred Dixon, CEO of Brand USA, said at U.S. Travel Association's annual IPW event being held here that with the campaign, “we’re sending a clear message: the USA is open for business and ready to welcome legitimate international travelers. We’re confident this effort will spark renewed interest and deepen connections with audiences around the world.”

The campaign was launched ahead of the upcoming decade of major U.S. events, including America's 250th anniversary, the 2026 World Cup, the Route 66 Centennial and Olympic Games in both 2028 and 2034. It will go live in markets around the world in August and be supported by a digital hub, AmericaTheBeautiful.com, which launched today. The campaign uses AI in partnership with Mindtrip to enable visitors to plan trips more easily and allow Brand USA to better understand what inspires global audiences.

“In this environment, there are travelers that are on the fence about their destination choice, and we’re using data and various other measurements to target folks who are leaning into travel, who are looking internationally, who would be in our target demo, to attract them to come to the U.S.,” Dixon said. “They need to be encouraged across the fence. That’s exactly what this campaign is designed to do.”

He said the campaign leans into U.S. destinations “and the emotional connection between travelers and in the memories that they make and the experiences that they have in the U.S., and it celebrates the people and the places and the connections that make the U.S. unforgettable and really unparalleled in so many ways.”

The campaign’s launch comes as the National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) released the latest overseas visitation numbers, which showed an 8% bump in April, followed by a 2.8% decrease in May, compared with the same months of 2024.

Year-to-date international visitation to the U.S. is now off 0.8%. Numbers from each of the last two months show an improvement over the 11.6% dip in March, which Dixon said had a lot to do with Easter falling in March of 2024 and April of this year. The NTTO’s numbers do not include visitors from Canada, the No. 1 source of visitation to the U.S., or land crossings from Mexico.

A warming trend from Canada, Mexico

“The likelihood to visit the U.S. in the most recent sentiment poll is actually up,” Dixon said. “Mexico was up seven points over prior month. Canada was up three points. So, it’s moving in the right direction.”

The poll found that intent to travel to the U.S. from Mexico was at its highest level since January, while Canada improved for the second month in a row, reversing a sustained period of decline. Intent also increased month over month in several other key markets, including Japan, France, South Korea.

Dixon said that he attributes that to people looking ahead to summer and fall, and their attitudes about the U.S. “stabilizing, and in some of the major markets, we’re actually seeing it go up.”

“The U.S. is still the world’s most aspirational long-haul travel destination,” he said.

Dixon said that Brand USA has also partnered with the U.S. DOT to promote The Great American Road Trip to international travelers, featuring 250 points of interest across the country, and had officially finalized a partnership with the America250 Commission to help bring the nation’s upcoming anniversary to life.

Note: This story first appeared in Travel Weekly by Northstar