Brand USA president and CEO Chris Thompson will retire from his position, effective May 31, 2024.
Thompson since 2012 has been at the helm of Brand USA, a public-private organization that promotes tourism to the U.S.
Brand USA said a search for a new CEO is commencing and that Thompson would "pursue life beyond work."
"I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together, and I am confident that the organization will continue to thrive under new leadership," Thompson said.
Thompson arrived at Brand USA after serving as CEO of Visit Florida, that state's destination marketing organization. In 2022 he was inducted into Visit Florida's Hall of Fame.
Under Thompson's Brand USA leadership, international visitation to the U.S. increased from 67 million visitors in 2012 to 79 million in 2019, the year before the pandemic shutdown.
Under Thompson, Brand USA emphasized co-op marketing to give smaller destinations better exposure with Brand USA partnerships. According to an Oxford Economics study, since 2013 Brand USA marketing efforts added 8 million incremental visitors to the U.S., leading to nearly $26.4 billion in incremental spending and nearly $58 billion in total economic impact.
Brand USA's "screen strategy" led to the launch of three IMAX films, including 2016's National Parks Adventure, which Oxford Economics said had alone generated nearly $700 million in incremental visitor spending and enticed 172,335 incremental visitors to the U.S.
Brand USA board chairman Todd Davidson said in a statement that "under Chris' strategic guidance, the Brand USA team has kept the USA the preferred travel destination in the world.
"Chris's integrity, tenacity, passion and belief in the power of the travel and tourism industry to bring prosperity to all Americans fueled the advancement of the U.S. travel and tourism industry and established an organizational foundation of innovation, resiliency and future-focused confidence," he said.