Australia and New Zealand remain valuable long-haul markets for the USA, with travelers continuing to seek immersive, culturally rich, experience-led holidays. Cost-of-living pressures, currency softness, and competition from destinations such as Japan and Southeast Asia continue to shape decision-making, but high-value travelers are still willing to invest in trips that feel meaningful and distinctive.
Travel South USA is well positioned to meet this moment through its strengths in music, food, culture, road trips, and warm hospitality, with the plan targeting high-value Late Millennials, Gen X, and Early Boomers — urban travelers with strong travel intent, the means to travel, and a desire for culturally rich, experience-led holidays.
For FY2026-27, the strategy follows a three-pronged approach spanning travel trade, PR and media, and social. Trade activity centers on building agent and operator confidence through targeted sales calls, webinar training, trade newsletters, and International Showcase FAM recruitment, supported by a trade cooperative campaign with a high-value partner (Helloworld/Viva Holidays or Luxury Escapes) and a calendar of events including an NZ roadshow series, AU regional activations, and Thanksgiving trade event sponsorship. PR and media efforts will sustain earned coverage through always-on media relations and editorial pitching around themes like music, food, road trips, and history, alongside participation in TravMedia IMM and Global Media Marketplace. Social strategy continues organic Facebook and Instagram posting to maintain breadth across partner states, supplemented by a modest paid boosting layer and UGC asset capture from a hosted creator to improve engagement and content quality.
Content will continue to be anchored in core themes — music and culture, culinary South, road trips and scenic byways, history and heritage, outdoors and adventure, festivals, the New South, and Southern hospitality (“All Y’all Are Welcome”) — to reinforce the Travel South USA brand. KPIs span trade engagement (partner meetings, agents trained, and International Showcase suppliers), PR and media output (media meetings, articles generated, and earned impressions), and social performance (organic posts, reach, and engagement), giving the region a coordinated, measurable framework for converting awareness into visitation.