LOS ANGELES — When Fred Dixon took the stage here in front of about 5,000 attendees at U.S. Travel Association’s annual IPW conference in May, it would be his last speech under three of the world’s most well-known letters: NYC.
But the longtime CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions will be back at IPW next year, this time promoting three different letters: He will be CEO of Brand USA, a position that many in that audience rely on to build visitation to all parts of the country.
For Dixon, who started at Brand USA this month, the move from overseeing tourism strategy for one of the world’s most visited cities to overseeing the strategy for the entire U.S. comes with some similar challenges and expectations.
For example, while both New York and the U.S. are aspirational destinations for international visitors, those aspirations are most often focused on specific areas, such as Times Square, or Las Vegas.
But there’s one thing Dixon said he’s learned in the almost 20 years of overseeing New York tourism: the importance of spreading travel’s wealth.
“We think a lot about what equity means in tourism as it relates to both geography and neighborhoods,” Dixon said.
Fred Dixon, former CEO of NYC Tourism + Convention, speaking in 2019. Photo Credit: NYC Tourism + Conventions
During his tenure, Dixon’s team prioritized getting the city’s growing number of visitors — 62.2 million in 2019 — into different parts of the city. For example, a decade ago it spearheaded Tourism Ready, a free program for small businesses and cultural organizations in all five of the city’s boroughs to help participants “join the rising tide of the tourism economy,” as Dixon put it, by educating them on travel trade, distribution and networking.
Last year, NYC Tourism also decided that rather than only go on sales missions overseas, it would bring buyers to New York to meet with smaller players who could showcase their product and connect and build distribution.
Expanding tourism dovetails with Brand USA’s focus under Chris Thompson, who retired this month after leading the organization for 12 years. And while NYC Tourism’s mandate is to grow all travel sectors, including business and domestic visitation, under Dixon the city doubled international visitation, which is Brand USA’s sole focus. When Dixon joined the city’s tourism promotion arm in 2005, it ran five international offices; today it’s at 17.
Dixon’s New York team also realized that the majority of the city’s visitors come only to New York: In 2023, 60% did not visit another destination. That opens a window for repeat visitation to lesser known places.
It’s an area of opportunity for Brand USA.
“There is a parallel there between encouraging repeat visitation and adding exploration into that,” he said. “How do we take the iconic power of the known, in this case midtown [Manhattan], and use it to advance new neighborhoods, new destinations?”
There may be similar opportunities in other top destinations, he said, if visitors are only going to gateways like Los Angeles or Las Vegas.
U.S. destination marketers welcomed their former competitor to the role.
“Fred Dixon is ideally suited to build on the incredible foundation that Chris Thompson established over the past decade,” said Adam Burke, CEO of Los Angeles Tourism. “He is already highly respected by the international travel trade and media, is one of the most collaborative leaders in our industry and will be an exceptional ambassador for all destinations nationwide.”
Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC, said that he looked forward to more collaboration with Dixon, with whom he has co-promoted East Coast tourism.
“We’re always excited to work with Brand USA as we continue to grow international visitation and market share by focusing on making travel easier,” Ferguson said.
