Brand USA is pleased to announce a successful year coupled with new opportunities available on the USA Discovery Program – the official online training programme for the United States of America.

Along with 10 Brand USA badges, which encompass popular holiday experiences available in the United States, such as Coastal Escapes, Winter Sports, Luxury and Great Outdoors, the USA Discovery Program also hosts new content on bespoke destinations badges, including Las Vegas, Santa Monica, Portland, Denver, Utah, Kentucky, Lake Tahoe and, most recently, Philadelphia.

The new content continues to engage in excess of 4,500 users on the UK and Ireland site, with over 4,650 badges having been passed in total since the launch of the programme in 2013.

Integration with the MegaFam qualification process joins innovative additions to the site, such as the Knowledge Forum – where users can share their destination knowledge to gain 'star member' status – and the Member Photos page where users can upload recent snaps from familiarisation trips or holidays they've enjoyed in the USA.

With the training programme live in India, Australia and New Zealand, 2015 also saw the website launch in Brazil. Plans are underway to launch the program in Mexico next year.

David Whitaker, Brand USA's Chief Marketing Officer, said: “The USA Discovery Program continues to inspire agents across the globe and provide them with the knowledge they need to sell the USA as a premier holiday destination. We value the agents booking holidays to the United States on our behalf – they are our voice to the consumer. Our intention is to keep the USA Discovery Program as the number one go-to tool for agents. By working with our destination partners and producing fresh, new content, our goal is to continue to increase visitation year on year.”

Agents who attend World Travel Market on Thursday will also be able to visit the stand (NA350F-1) to meet the team and hear more about the brand new destinations for USA MegaFam 2016.

The USA Discovery Program is optimised for tablets and smartphones, and integrates with Facebook and Twitter.

For more information and to sign up, agents should visit USADiscoveryProgram.co.uk.

Consumer website: VisitTheUSA.com

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About Brand USA

Brand USA, the destination marketing organisation for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act to spearhead the nation's first global marketing effort to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. entry/exit policies and procedures to worldwide travellers. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. With a mission of increasing international visitation to the United States, Brand USA works in close partnership with the travel industry to maximise the economic and social benefits of travel. These benefits include creating jobs essential to the economy and fostering understanding between people and cultures. Brand USA's activities are funded at no cost to U.S. taxpayers through a combination of private-sector investment and matching funds collected by the U.S. Government from international visitors who come to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program. Through its website call-to-action, Brand USA inspires travellers to explore the United States of America's boundless possibilities. For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit www.TheBrandUSA.com. For information about exceptional and unexpected travel experiences in the United States, please visit Brand USA's consumer website at www.VisitTheUSA.com. 

For further press information on Brand USA, contact:
• Sarah Barnett – sbarnett@thebrandusa.co.uk / 020 7845 6378
• Allie Williams – awilliams@thebrandusa.co.uk / 020 7845 6384
• Polly Beech – pbeech@thebrandusa.co.uk / 020 7845 6359
• Bridgett Krider – bkrider@thebrandusa.com / 001 202 888 0069