Brand USA, a federally created agency that promotes U.S. tourism overseas, hit the Lexington area to create videos targeted to attract British travelers.
The group, which is funded through private donations that “unlock” matching funds from a fee on certain travelers to the United States, partnered with the Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism for the project.
Jody Short, a native of England who lives in Virginia, stars in and narrates the videos aimed at prospective travelers from the country of her birth.
“The Lexington area offers a wonderful mix of cosmopolitan flavor and Southern charm, with an array of top-notch restaurants, craft breweries, galleries, boutiques and historic buildings,” Short says in one video.
The Brand USA team shot the videos Friday and Saturday at various locations in and around the city, including downtown along Jefferson Street, at Windy Corner Market and at Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace distilleries, among other locales.
The videos are tailored to appeal to the interests of the target audience abroad, officials said.
“I think folks from the United Kingdom are really interested in getting more of the true America, if you will,” VisitLex President Mary Quinn Ramer said in a statement. “The heartland and certainly the South, are very, very hot right now.”