Reports: 5 Brand USA board members abruptly fired via email by Trump Administration

Five members of the Brand USA board were reportedly fired by email on Friday, as the Trump Administration moves to mark its stamp on the US tourism industry.

According to the industry title Skift, the decision came from the White House. The five members fired from the board were reportedly chair Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC; vice chair Lauren Bailey, CEO of Upward Projects; Kristen Esposito, principal of Esposito Global Partners; secretary Allen Orr, founder of Orr Immigration Law; and Tim Mapes, chief marketing and communications officer at Delta Air Lines.

The board has 11 members who are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce with input from the U.S. Secretaries of State and Homeland Security.

“Trump is turning over the board,” a source told Skift. Ferguson was only five months into his one-year term.  A Brand USA spokesperson said, “Brand USA has no comment regarding your query. We refer you to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which manages board appointments.”

Brand USA only announced the Board in December last year. 

Tourism to the US has been slower to recover from other destinations post-COVID. The US is aiming to welcome 90 million visitors who will spend $279 billion annually by 2027, as outlined in the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy. Whilst this number was on track to be achieved by 2026, earlier than expected, visitors to the US have noted a significant drop in recent times.

Australians, famed for their long stays, were identified as a target market for the US, however, recent data from the US International Trade Administration shows that Australian visitor numbers plunged by 7 per cent in March this year compared to the year before. It was the sharpest drop from March 2021 during the height of COVID-19.

The drop in Australians travelling to the US comes amidst reports of travellers being denied entry and phones being seized.

Other countries with a significant reduction in people travelling to the US included Colombia ( a 33 per cent decline), Germany (28 per cent) and the UK ( 14 per cent).

Locally, Brand USA has been working hard to assure travellers about travelling to the US.  In April, it launched its inaugural Australian and New Zealand ‘Ambassador Panel’. Brand USA has unveiled the retail agents selected to join its inaugural Australian and New Zealand ‘Ambassador Panel’. The program, which is the first-of-its-kind for the organisation, focuses on inspiring and educating the travel trade community in Australia and New Zealand.

The year-long program allows 12 selected retail agents to engage with industry peers and offer valuable insights on market trends that influence travel to the USA.