Christopher Thompson, President and CEO of Brand USA, talked about the first-ever, direct-to-consumer marketing campaign for the United States and how it greatly increased interest from the markets of Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. This year, the campaign will continue in those same three markets, and will be expanding into Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Mexico, and South Korea.

The 11 markets represent 75% of inbound travel to the United States. While the team was focused on Chinese travel groups, it became apparent that Mexico travel is also expected to increase in the US due to new VISA deregulations. With 44 pre-scheduled appointments, over 20 media appointments and 20 onsite appointments, it’s estimated by the Greater Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau the room night potential from this show will translate to over 20,000+ room nights driving $6 million in estimated economic impact.

The message throughout the conference used Ontario as the hub – come and stay, save, play, shop, and Discover the I.E., with its wide variety of activities, events, and opportunities to experience winter, summer, spring and fall.

The next steps for DiscoverIE & the Greater Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau are to both educate the newfound clients on what there is “to do” in the region and how easy it is traveling to the major Southern California attractions.  The continued development of itineraries and hotel package options will help drive new visitor attraction, translating to a significant economic boost for Southern California’s Inland Empire.

About DiscoverIE 

DiscoverIE is the marketing campaign of the Inland Empire Tourism Council (IETC), the official State of California tourism promotion and destination marketing organization for Southern California’s Inland Empire. Established in 1988, IETC is a 501(C) 6 membership organization comprised of the region’s tourism-related businesses, associations, and local governments. Its partners work cooperatively to achieve their common goals while meeting their own business development objectives. Please visitwww.DiscoverIE.com for more information.