Visit USA’s annual much-anticipated get-together of members and media took place under a cloudless, sun-kissed sky at the prestigious Hurlingham Club in London earlier this month.
Tour operators, airlines, states, regions and cities, hotel groups and U.S. experiences were among the 360 guests present at an evening that is the signature event of Visit USA’s social calendar.
Keynote sponsors on the evening included World Travel Market (a sponsor of the Summer Affair since 2007), Brand USA, Travel Texas and Delta Air Lines – whose UK and Ireland Sales Manager Kate Devereaux presented a video showing highlights of the airline’s 100 years of operation.
After an al fresco Champagne drinks reception, and a sumptuous dinner in the venue’s revamped banqueting room, a raffle and auction raised over £11,411 for one of the Association’s nominated charity, Just A Drop.
Over the years the Summer Affair has raised almost £72,000 for Just A Drop and helped reach nearly two million people with safe water and sanitation.
Kate Kenward, Visit USA’s CEO, commented: “Our July Summer Affair is a great opportunity for the USA travel trade and media to come together to make new contacts or reconnect with familiar faces.
“We were also so pleased to welcome some of our members based in the USA who made the trip across the Atlantic especially for the evening.
“Along with such a strong turn-out from members, it shows the strength and determination of the market from the UK to the U.S. to promote the huge number of wonderful experiences and activities available Stateside.”
Jackie Ennis, Brand USA’s VP of Global Trade Development, admitted that these are “complicated times” for Brand USA, with the marketing organisation’s budget set to be cut by around 80% but said travel from the UK to the U.S. this year is “holding strong”, with 1.5 million visitors arriving in the first five months of 2025.
Pictured: World Travel Market’s Jonathan Heastie, Just A Drop’s CEO and Founder, Fiona Jeffery, and Visit USA’s Chair, Julie Greenhill.
