Five Brand USA board members apparently dismissed via email

Brand USA, the marketing organization for tourism in the United States, made surprising personnel changes. According to industry portal Skift, five members of the eleven-member board were dismissed via email on Friday, including chairman Elliott Ferguson (photo). The decision reportedly came directly from the White House.

According to Skift (subscribe), the dismissed members include Chairman Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC, and Vice Chairman Lauren Bailey, CEO of the restaurant chain Upward Projects. Also affected are Kristen Esposito of Esposito Global Partners, Secretary Allen Orr, founder of Orr Immigration Law, and Tim Mapes, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Delta Air Lines. Ferguson had only been in office for five months and would have served a one-year term.

No statement from Brand USA

A Brand USA spokesperson declined to comment, referring the matter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is responsible for appointing board members. The members in question were only officially introduced in December of last year.

An industry insider told Skift: "Trump is flipping the board." The layoffs fit into the picture of a broader realignment with which the Trump administration aims to increase its influence over U.S. tourism strategy.

Tourism is recovering slowly

The restructuring comes at a critical time: US tourism has recovered more slowly from the pandemic than other major destinations. According to the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy, the US aims to welcome 90 million visitors annually by 2027, spending $279 billion. This goal was originally within reach for 2026, but the industry has recently experienced noticeable declines.

Fewer travelers came from important source markets such as Colombia (minus 33 percent), Germany (minus 28 percent) and Great Britain (minus 14 percent), and the number of visitors from Canada fell even more sharply.

Christian Schmicke