Brand USA's Covid-Era Funding Windfall Is Shrinking 💸

This newsletter comes at you from New York City, where we’ve just wrapped up this year’s Skift Global Forum.

It was a busy week. The typical travel news cycle didn’t slow down: Royal Caribbean on Wednesday confirmed plans to buy a 50% stake in Sandals, and Barry Diller’s People Inc. withdrew its proposal to acquire MGM Resorts International.

Meanwhile, in NYC, we learned about how travel brands are measuring creator content impact, dove into why “trust” was the word of the day at the Skift Creator Summit, and broke down why Brand USA and other DMO campaigns use vague terms like “the big game” instead of calling out the Super Bowl directly.

Speaking of Brand USA, we looked into the nation’s destination marketing arm’s budget earlier this week. The organization says it is on stable financial footing after federal funding was slashed 80%, but the one-time $250 million Covid-era boost that has been propping up recent spending is draining fast.

To cover $165 million in planned spending next fiscal year, Brand USA expects to draw about $114.1 million from reserves, leaving roughly $51 million by October 2027 — just above the $40 million floor its board set.

With fewer dollars flowing in from federal funding and partner contributions, the organization faces “limited resources” heading into fiscal 2028. The budget pinch would hit as the the U.S. travel industry works to draw more than 100 million international visitors by 2030.