Brand USA has announced it is introducing VisitTheUSA.com as its new global consumer website address to reach international travellers.

Brand USA’s current consumer website address, DiscoverAmerica.com, will continue to be live in the market place.

The new URL is being introduced over the course of Brand USA’s 2016 fiscal year in all markets where the organisation currently promotes travel to the United States, with the exception of China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Taiwan. 

In those markets, Brand USA’s online consumer presence is promoted to travellers as GoUSA.com, because consumer testing indicated the GoUSA address resonated more clearly with travellers in those markets.

Brand USA’s business-to-business and corporate URL address will continue to be found at TheBrandUSA.com.

“We expect to complete the introduction to VisitTheUSA over the course of several months through a purposeful, soft launch that enables us to fully test and optimise the site as we also begin work to enhance the content and functionality of our consumer website and evolve our consumer marketing campaigns,” said Christopher Thompson, Brand USA president.

Thompson cited several reasons for introducing a new website URL as its core online presence, including its strong alignment with its mission to welcome and increase the number of travellers who visit the United States, as well as the fact that “America” is more than just the USA.

“In many parts of the world, we found that international travellers felt our use of ‘America’ in our current consumer website address was overreaching, because America is comprised of more than just the United States. 

“While ‘America’ resonates strongly in many parts of the world, in others the Americas refers to one continent comprised of North, Central, and South America,” Thompson said. 

“And those three subcontinents include 35 different countries.”

Brand USA noted that the soft launch introduction of VisitTheUSA as an additional way to market travel to the United States is also timed well with several marketing opportunities, including the organisation’s new mission and vision, which emphasise its core purpose of increasing international visitation to the United States and the development of new content and new digital marketing activations. 

As Brand USA begins to introduce new content and creative in the marketplace, it will slowly begin to highlight and promote the new website address to consumers, with visitors to DiscoverAmerica.com seamlessly redirected to the new address.

Now in its fifth year of operation, Brand USA continues to increase international travel to the United States, while enhancing the image of the US as a premier travel destination in the global marketplace.