CHICAGO — At a special reception for Canadian delegates at IPW 2014 currently taking place in Chicago, Brand USA – created by President Obama in 2012 as the overseas marketing organization – announced that Sana Keller and Patrice Bell will be the new Canadian representatives.

Keller and Bell bring years of experience to Brand USA representing U.S. states and cities in the Canadian market and are excited and honoured to have been chosen after a long bidding process.

“The President has set a pretty aggressive goal of attracting 100 million visitors from international markets around the world,” says Brand USA CEO & President Christopher Thompson. “Last year, we hit 70 million, which was a record year. So our job is to find the path to 100 million visitors over the next seven years, which is the goal by 2021.”

A recent study shows that Brand USA’s efforts generate $7.4 billion in economic impact in 2013, and supported the creation of 53,000 new jobs in the United States. It is also estimated that for every $1 Brand USA spends, $47 is generated for U.S. companies.

“For the next three or four years, you will not recognize this organization from the year prior, that’s how much change we are making and it’s what we’re doing in partnership with the industry, both suppliers and of course the overseas buyers,” says Thompson.

Canada continues to be the largest international market for the U.S. tourism industry, and with the help of Keller and Bell, Brand USA seeks to strengthen the return on mature markets such as Canada, while also putting a focus on faster growing emerging markets such as Brazil and China with growing middle classes.