{"id":409044,"date":"2025-09-09T00:04:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T00:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/409044\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T00:04:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T00:04:16","slug":"brand-usa-cuts-15-percent-of-workforce-ends-gousa-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/409044\/","title":{"rendered":"Brand USA Cuts 15 Percent of Workforce, Ends GoUSA TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mia<\/a>by Mia Taylor<\/a>
Last updated: 6:10 PM ET, Mon September 8, 2025<\/p>\n

After having its budget slashed by 80 percent, Brand USA has completed a reorganization effort that includes eliminating 15 percent of its staff and ending GoUSA TV.<\/p>\n

The staffing cuts at the official destination marketing organization for the United States represent 12 roles across several departments and categories, according to a statement shared with TravelPulse by Brand USA spokesperson Chris Heywood.<\/p>\n

The cuts also included ending GoUSA TV, an ad-supported streaming service that promoted inbound tourism to the United States across such platforms as Roku, Apple TV and Youtube.<\/p>\n

The move comes after President Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d reduced funding for Brand USA from $100 million to just $20 million for the 2026 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

In the Brand USA statement shared with media, Heywood said the cuts and restructuring now taking place will streamline operations and allow the organization to \u201cbetter align with current budget realities and strategic priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heywood added that the reorganization \u201cstrengthens operational efficiencies.”<\/p>\n

Eliminating the streaming of promotional content on Roku, Apple TV and Youtube will also help support organizational efficiency, per the organization\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of our ongoing commitment to maximize tourism promotion effectiveness, we are also realigning our marketing investments to focus on high-impact initiatives,\u201d Heywood said.\u00a0That includes transitioning away from GoUSA TV \u201cto prioritize our new \u2018America the Beautiful\u2019 platform and other strategic content solutions that deliver stronger engagement and reach for promoting the nation to international audiences.”<\/p>\n

The America the Beautiful campaign<\/a> was launched in June and invites the world to discover the breathtaking landscapes and authentic experiences found across the United States.<\/p>\n

The Brand USA staffing cuts come at a time when the United States is making other changes to other policies and procedures that are likely to make it more difficult to visit the United States.<\/p>\n

Just this weekend, the United States Department of State announced several new restrictions for short-term visas<\/a> covering tourism, business, students, and temporary workers.<\/p>\n

In particular, the Department of State revealed that non-immigrant visa interviews must be “scheduled in the applicant’s country of nationality or residence,\u201d a development that will stop individuals from booking interviews in a third country to avoid the notoriously long waits to obtain a U.S. visa.<\/p>\n

In addition, the State Department unveiled a new visa-restriction policy targeting certain Central American nationals. As part of the changes, the U.S. Government can deny visas to individuals who they say knowingly direct, fund, support, or carry out activities that weaken governance in Central America.<\/p>\n

Also recently, the United States adopted one of the steepest visa fees worldwide for individuals interested in coming to this country. Passage of President Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill Act brought with it a new \u201cvisa integrity fee\u201d that will cost about $250 to start.<\/a><\/p>\n

The fee is a new fee that will be charged on top of all existing US entry fees and will apply to all visitors who need a nonimmigrant visa to enter the United States. That includes tourists, business travelers and international students. The cost for the fee is not eligible to be waived.<\/p>\n

All of these changes have prompted some media outlets<\/a> to suggest that while the rest of the world is opening its doors to travelers, “the U.S.
\nis turning visas into an obstacle course” and “securing a U.S.
\nvisa may soon come with bragging rights.”<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

U.S. flag in New York City (Photo Credit: Courtesy AdobeStock)<\/p>\n

Threatening international visitation<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said<\/a> smart investments in America\u2019s travel infrastructure and security are being overshadowed by new fees that foreign visitors are being charged and the funding reductions to Brand USA.<\/p>\n

At the time, Freeman had called on Congress to restore Brand USA\u2019s funding, calling it critical for the success of the country\u2019s upcoming 250th anniversary and other major global events that will be hosted during President Trump\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

He also expressed frustration with the bill’s steep increases to nonimmigrant visa fees. In addition to the\u00a0 $250 Visa Integrity Fee, President Trump\u2019s Big Beautiful Bill increased the Electronic System for Travel Authorization fee for travelers using the Visa Waiver Program from $21 to $40.<\/p>\n

“Failing to fully fund Brand USA is a missed opportunity \u2014 especially as the administration seeks to maximize an historic slate of global events on American soil,” said Freeman in July.<\/p>\n

“Raising fees on lawful international visitors amounts to a self-imposed tariff on one of our nation\u2019s largest exports: international travel spending,\u201d Freeman added. \u201cThese fees are not reinvested in improving the travel experience and do nothing but discourage visitation at a time when foreign travelers are already concerned about the welcome experience and high prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement shared with TravelPulse today, the U.S. Travel Association added: \u201cWe need to send a welcome message to the world, remove unnecessary fees for visitors and address delays in the visa process. Task forces for upcoming events like the FIFA World Cup, America\u2019s 250th birthday and the 2028 Summer Olympics are in motion, but we need to keep building. Upcoming events in the U.S. could bring 40 million visitors and $100 billion in economic impact\u2014but only with proactive strategy and modern systems in place.\u201d <\/p>\n

For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n Topics From This Article to Explore <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Mia Taylor Last updated: 6:10 PM ET, Mon September 8, 2025 After having its budget slashed by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[834,33777,33779,33783,10407,12,30709,23848,33781,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-409044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-bing-news","10":"tag-destination-u0026-tourism","11":"tag-destinations","12":"tag-msn","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-smartnews","15":"tag-travelpulse-us","16":"tag-tronc","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115171417562242897","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}