Corporation for Travel Promotion CEO Makes Debut at International Pow Wow, Pledges Strong Collaboration with Partners to Achieve Maximum Return on Investment
Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP) CEO Jim Evans made his debut before international media on-site at U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow on Tuesday. During the press conference, Evans pledged to have marketing plans in place by the fall and to work in collaboration with partners from around the country and the world.
“There are many programs and assets that exist within the United States and abroad that employ great talent within our industry, and the CTP plans to utilize these capabilities to enhance our first-ever nationally coordinated marketing program and achieve the highest possible return on our investment,” said Evans. “We look forward to working with all of our stakeholders including the states, destinations, companies, Visit USA, See America and Discover America Committees, as they are the experts in this field.”
During his appearance before the media, Evans outlined three priorities that he is focused on in his first days as CEO:
• Building a world-class organization by hiring top talent in marketing, sales, partnerships and
operations;
• Developing a marketing strategy that will achieve high return on investment for the industry
and the country; and
• Creating a program for securing financial participation that contributes real and measurable
value to supporters.
On Monday, Evans made his first public address to the industry during a standing-room only public Board of Directors meeting. He later spoke live before the entire ow Wow delegation during Monday’s luncheon event, reiterating the same messages.
Evans said that the marketing plan is not yet in place and that research on the opportunities for success is being evaluated. Further, he stated that key U.S. mainstay markets, including countries in Western Europe, will be part of the program, even as emerging markets are being considered as well.
“It is an exciting time for the travel and tourism industry, for our country and for me personally as the challenge of promoting the United States will require great skill, creativity and dedication to build a program that brings billions in new spending and millions of jobs to the U.S. economy,” said Evans. “Having been on the job just a few days, I can tell you that I am energized and anxious to begin this important task.”
About the Corporation for Travel Promotion
The Corporation for Travel Promotion is a nonprofit corporation created by Congress for the purpose of promoting foreign leisure, business and scholarly travel to the U.S. President Obama signed the program into law in 2010 and the CEO was named in May 2011. Once it is fully implemented, the entity will have a budget of up to $200 million. The program will be responsible for using advertising and other marketing tactics to help increase visitation and visitor spending in the U.S.
For more information about the Corporation for Travel Promotion, please visit
www.CorporationForTravelPromotion.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.