The destination marketing organization for the United States, Brand USA, today announced a major cooperative marketing agreement with Air Canada, the largest full service airline in Canada, making them Brand USA's largest North American airline partner. Through the partnership, Air Canada and Brand USA will embark on a high-profile, multi-media campaign promoting travel to the USA.

“We are delighted with the Air Canada partnership. Air Canada is a proven, high-quality award-winning brand, and strong player in the transborder market, offering the most capacity into the USA. Recent outbound activity from Canada to the U.S. has been very strong and the forecast looks optimistic,” said Christopher Thompson, president and CEO for Brand USA. “Our research indicates that the 'intent to visit' among Canadians who saw our initial 'Land of Dreams' campaign increased 22% -- providing a great foundation and partnering with Air Canada will increase the momentum to expand our footprint in the market.”

The long-term partnership debuts with a high profile multi media campaign this fall launching in Toronto and Montreal, and includes innovative out-of-home (OOH), print, digital and radio promotions with surprise incentives to visit the USA. With the goal to reinforce the Canadian traveller's interest in New York, Florida and other gateway destinations, the campaign creative features iconic symbols such as the Statue of Liberty, pink flamingos, the Vegas sign and sandy beaches.

“Air Canada is a natural partner for Brand USA. We continue to be the leader in the Canada-U.S. transborder market offering convenient access to an extensive network of 49 U.S. destinations along with the most daily nonstop flights of any airline. The partnership is a powerful combination to stimulate travel to the U.S., featuring Air Canada's strong leadership position, combined with Brand USA's proven marketing ability,” said Selma Filali, Director of Marketing Communications at Air Canada.

According to the most recent U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) reports, Canada improved its position as the leader in arrivals to the United States with 22.7 million visitors in 2012, injecting $22.5 billion in the U.S. economy.

Thompson added, “The Canadian market is primed and ready to go. In fact, Brand USA's proprietary research shows that over 80% of international Canadian travelers surveyed are likely to travel to USA within the next two years.”

About Brand USA

Brand USA is the public-private partnership responsible for promoting the United States as a premier travel destination and communicating U.S. entry/exit policies and procedures. Established by the Travel Promotion Act in 2010, the organization's mission is to increase international visitation to the United States while working in partnership with the travel industry to maximize the economic and social benefits of travel. These benefits include creating jobs essential to the economy and fostering understanding between people and cultures.

For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visitwww.TheBrandUSA.com. For information about travel to and around the United States, please visit Brand USA's consumer website at www.DiscoverAmerica.com

About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Together with its Air Canada Express regional affiliates, Air Canada operates more than 400 non-stop flights per day on over 85 routes to and from 49 U.S. and six Canadian airports. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2012 served close to 35 million customers.  In addition to its U.S. transborder services, Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities and 67 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America.  Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,328 destinations in 195 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.