The U.S. tourism organization is showcasing exclusive culture, dining, wilderness, rail, sports and wellness experiences at IMM LUX events in Las Vegas and the U.K.
Brand USA is promoting a luxury travel proposition built around privacy, access and highly personalized experiences across the United States.
- Brand USA is presenting its luxury travel offer at IMM LUX North America on September 9-10 and IMM LUX U.K. on October 12-13.
- The campaign frames luxury around privacy, specialist access and tailored experiences across culture, food, wilderness, rail, sport and wellness.
- Highlighted experiences range from private museum tours and six-seat omakase dining to exclusive-use retreats, guided national parks and premium rail journeys.
- Brand USA says deeper personalization can help international visitors connect with U.S. people, landscapes and culture.
(NEWS) LAS VEGAS, Nevada, United States, 2026-Sep-10 — /Travel PR News/ — Brand USA is using the luxury-travel trade circuit this autumn to make a broader case for the United States as a high-end destination built around access, privacy and highly personalized experiences rather than accommodation alone. The national destination marketing organization is presenting that approach at IMM LUX North America in Las Vegas on September 9-10 and will take the message to IMM LUX U.K. on October 12-13.
The campaign, detailed in a Brand USA story published September 9, ranges from before- and after-hours museum visits and private chef-led dining to wilderness guiding, exclusive-use retreats, premium rail journeys, sporting hospitality and intensive wellness programmes. The common thread is access to places, people and experiences that are difficult to replicate through a conventional itinerary.
“Travel is increasingly measured in unique experiences and deeply-tailored personalization,” Fred Dixon, president and CEO of Brand USA, said in the organization’s announcement. He pointed to bespoke journeys built around individual interests as a way for visitors to connect more closely with American landscapes, culture and communities.
Culture after the crowds leave
Several of the examples turn familiar U.S. attractions into more private encounters. In New York, the Museum of Modern Art offers private tours before opening or after closing, with groups of up to 25 entering separately and touring with an art historian. In San Francisco, Alcatraz City Cruises offers a Behind the Scenes experience that takes a limited number of visitors into areas beyond the standard cellhouse route and continues into the evening.
Chicago also features in the cultural mix through private guided visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, where the focus is on more intimate viewing of works by artists including Georges Seurat, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Grant Wood and Edward Hopper. Together, the examples reflect Brand USA’s emphasis on reducing crowds and increasing specialist access around major cultural institutions.
Chef access and destination dining
Food is another major strand. In New Orleans, Kira Omakase is highlighted for a six-seat, 20-course experience from chef Yoshi Okai, combining Japanese technique with Gulf seafood and local ingredients. In Miami Beach, Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann at Faena Miami Beach brings guests close to an open-fire kitchen built around contemporary asado.
Wine-country experiences extend the idea into Napa Valley, where guests can arrange private tastings and vineyard visits, while major culinary events such as the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and Pebble Beach Food & Wine offer higher-tier packages that include private tastings, dinners and hospitality unavailable with standard admission. Brand USA also points to guest-chef dinners at the James Beard House in New York as an example of food tourism built around direct interaction with culinary talent.
Small-scale retreats and private islands
The accommodation selections lean heavily toward properties with history, seclusion or a distinctive relationship with their setting. The Point in New York’s Adirondacks has 11 guest accommodations and can be reserved as an exclusive-use estate. Montana’s Ranch at Rock Creek combines cabins, lodge accommodation and glamping across a large private landscape, while Blackberry Farm in Tennessee ties lodging to food, wine, outdoor pursuits and guest programming.
In Hawaiʻi, Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort is presented as a reimagined version of a resort first opened in 1965 and rebuilt after the 2011 tsunami. Dorado Beach, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico draws on its Rockefeller-era history, while Lovango Resort + Beach Club in the U.S. Virgin Islands offers boat-only access to a private island with accommodation ranging from glamping tents to a villa.
Private guiding in the American outdoors
Brand USA’s wilderness selections move beyond the standard national-park itinerary. Private operators can build customized trips through Utah’s five national parks, while Camp Sarika at Amangiri provides a 10-pavilion base in the red-rock landscape near Canyon Point. In Arizona, Navajo-owned Sacred Edge Tours runs private 4×4 trips to the Grand Canyon’s East Rim with guides sharing Navajo history and cultural context.
On the opposite side of the country, Casco Bay Custom Charters in Maine offers customizable journeys aboard classic wooden vessels, combining coastal cruising with access to islands, lighthouses and locally inspired food and drink. These products position guided access and interpretation as part of the premium rather than simply transport or accommodation.
Luxury rail gains a larger role
Rail travel is also part of the campaign as the United States approaches the 200th anniversary of American rail in 2027. Halloway Private Rail Cars, launched in January 2026, attaches restored private cars to scheduled Amtrak services and offers onboard chefs, housekeeping, laundry and turndown service. One itinerary links San Francisco and Denver through the Sierra Nevada, Nevada and Utah.
Canyon Spirit operates two- and three-day luxury rail trips linking Denver, Moab and Salt Lake City, with hotel stays along the route and a Premier option adding a lounge car, upgraded dining and outdoor viewing space. Alaska Railroad’s GoldStar Service meanwhile uses bi-level glass-dome cars on routes including Anchorage-Seward and Anchorage-Fairbanks.
Sports hospitality and high-touch wellness
For sports travellers, Brand USA highlights premium hospitality around the Masters, Kentucky Derby and US Open. At Augusta National, Map & Flag hospitality combines tournament access with dedicated food, drink and concierge services. Churchill Downs offers premium environments including Turf Club and Club SI, while the US Open is adding new luxury suite levels and premium clubs at Arthur Ashe Stadium as part of a multi-year hospitality expansion.
Wellness completes the mix. California’s Golden Door limits its retreat programmes to 40 guests and combines fitness, hiking, spa treatments, mindfulness and nutrition, with a private-air option developed with Latitude 33 Aviation. The Ranch Hudson Valley operates structured three-, four- and seven-night programmes for a maximum of 26 private guest rooms, while Canyon Ranch is preparing to open its Austin property on October 15, 2026, on more than 600 acres overlooking Lake Travis.
The selection gives international luxury sellers an unusually broad menu, stretching from headline attractions to remote landscapes and highly controlled small-group experiences. Rather than defining luxury primarily through price or conventional hotel classifications, Brand USA is presenting the ability to secure time, privacy, expertise and access as a central part of the premium U.S. travel proposition. More trip inspiration is available through VisitTheUSA’s luxury travel hub.
