(From NY Times) Time was when just the mention of the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Coast Highway or the New York skyline was enough to entice tourists from around the world. But that was before 9/11 and the rise of security barriers on entering the United States. And it was before Asia’s economic renaissance drew travelers there. So come May, the United States will begin the first coordinated effort to market itself overseas, using billboards, social media, public relations, trade shows and educational campaigns. The marketing effort grows out of a 2010 law, the Travel Promotion Act, that was pushed by the American travel industry. The U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade group, had noted that the United States’ share of global travel had declined from 2000 to 2010 and that the country’s economy was losing billions of dollars in visitor spending as a result.>> Read More
