MEDIA RELEASE

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has announced she is an original co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize Brand USA, a public-private partnership that promotes U.S. travel to the global community.

The Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4450) was introduced by members of the Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus.

It will reauthorize Brand USA for five years and will add several accountability and transparency measures.

“Hawaii uniquely depends on tourism as the single-largest driver of our local economy,” said Gabbard, a member of the Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus. “By reauthorizing Brand USA, we can continue to support and create tourism-related jobs in Hawaii and promote our beautiful islands to visitors from around the world. Through Brand USA’s public-private promotion efforts, we will welcome new and returning visitors to experience the incredible beauty and cultural diversity that Hawaii has to offer.”

Brand USA’s work is supported through a combination of private sector contributions and matching funds from an existing international visa fee.

As Brand USA approaches the end of its current authorization, Congress has begun to examine ways to help it increase its efficiency and effectiveness and to increase America’s competitiveness in the global travel market.

In Fiscal Year 2013, Brand USA’s marketing efforts generated one million incremental visitors, which resulted in $7.4 billion in total sales and supported more than 53,000 new U.S. jobs