Brand USA Marks the Start of 2026 with New Year Trade Partner Celebration Event
SEOUL (January 23, 2026) — Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, hosted its New Year Trade Partner Celebration Event in collaboration with seven U.S. travel partners to mark the start of 2026. Now in its third year, the event has established itself as an annual industry touchpoint, strengthening collaboration with the Korean travel trade and supporting sustained interest in travel to the United States.
Held at Dun Dun Yeonmujang in Dongdaemun, the event brought together representatives from Korea’s travel industry to review collaborative efforts from the past year and exchange perspectives on evolving market conditions influencing outbound travel to the United States. The program also highlighted key trends shaping U.S. travel demand and outlined Brand USA’s key focus areas for 2026.
The event featured a networking reception, followed by presentations sharing market updates, partner initiatives, and an overview of Brand USA’s “America the Beautiful” campaign. Partner-led presentations then outlined upcoming activities, trade programs, and market considerations for the year ahead. Together, these sessions delivered practical insights to support U.S. travel product development, marketing initiatives, and sales planning within the Korean market.
Seven U.S. destination and airline partners participated as co-hosts of the event, including Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Guam Visitors Bureau, Hawaiian Airlines, Marianas Visitors Authority, Visit California, and Visit Seattle. Their participation underscored the breadth and diversity of U.S. destinations and air connectivity actively engaging with the Korean travel trade.
Looking ahead to 2026, the United States will host a number of major milestones and global events expected to generate heightened interest in travel. Against this backdrop, the program highlighted key occasions such as America 250, the Route 66 centennial, and the FIFA World Cup, positioning them as timely reference points for product planning and promotional direction.
By convening DMOs, airlines, and travel industry professionals, the event created a shared space to align perspectives on market developments and emerging travel trends. This alignment strengthened understanding of evolving travel demand and reinforced the foundation for coordinated collaboration to support travel to the United States.
To learn more about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com. To start planning a trip to the USA, visit AmericaTheBeautiful.com.
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About Brand USA
Brand USA is the nation’s destination marketing organization, dedicated to attracting legitimate international inbound travel to strengthen the U.S. economy, increase exports, create quality jobs, and promote community prosperity. By running data-driven campaigns and unifying messaging across industry and government, Brand USA positions the United States as a top global destination while providing current visa and entry information.
Since 2012 Brand USA, in collaboration with travel industry partners, has been responsible for attracting an additional 10.3 million visitors who spent nearly $35 billion in the United States, generating $76 billion in economic output, and sustaining nearly 40,000 jobs per year. Without any cost to taxpayers, these efforts have generated $10 billion in tax receipts and returned $20 to the U.S. economy for every dollar spent.
