Inside Trump’s Tourism Envoy’s Plan to Sell America – Bonus Podcast

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America has never had the equivalent of a tourism minister — until now.

In March, President Trump created the role of Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values, and handed it to Nick Adams: conservative commentator, self-styled “alpha male,” and the loudest pitchman U.S. travel has ever had. 

In this special edition of the Skift Travel Podcast, Gordon Smith sits down with Adams for one of his first extended interviews in the role. They cover the operational push behind the 2026 World Cup, mounting concerns over transit pricing and visa wait times, and the “fake narratives” Adams says are distorting global perceptions of the U.S. 

Adams also lays out his ambitious goal of 100 million international visitors by 2030, and explains what “American exceptionalism” looks like through a tourism lens. 

It’s a candid conversation with one of the most outspoken voices in U.S. travel — and a central question hanging over it all: is the world ready to buy what Nick Adams is selling?

Watch a Highlight

Hello, and welcome to a special edition of The Skift Travel Podcast. I’m Gordon Smith, and today we’re sitting down with one of the most talked about figures in global tourism right now.

Nick Adams is the special presidential envoy for American tourism, exceptionalism and values, a role created by President Trump back in March, but one that has no real president in the US government.

I caught up with Nick on the sidelines of the World Travel and Tourism Council’s leadership summit in Egypt, in one of his first extended interviews in the new role.

We discuss everything from world-cut pricing worries and what he calls the fake narratives surrounding travel to the US, as well as his ambitious goal of 100 million international visitors by 2030, and what American exceptionalism actually means in a

tourism context. It’s a candid conversation with a controversial figure, and it starts right now. Nick, welcome to The Skift Travel Podcast. What is your message to the industry as you take on this brand new role?

What is the Nick Adams’ vision?

It certainly is. Gordon, let me begin by saying what a pleasure and honor it is to join you and all of your listeners. You’re right.

This is a brand new role. This is the first time that the United States of America has ever had the equivalent of a tourism minister. Tourism has never previously been represented in the United States on the White House or presidential level.

And I am both honored and humbled. But I also know that there are challenges that need to be met and conquered. But I am very sanguine about that happening because I am very passionate.

But most of all, what gives me my optimism is that I know that there is no market on earth like the American tourism portfolio. You can do Gordon everything and anything in the United States of America.

We’ve got beaches and ski slopes and jazz clubs and rocket launches. I could go on and on and on, but the 50 states are like 50 different countries. So it’s unlimited.

But also, as I discussed in my keynote, what’s really special about the United States is that when you come, you don’t only step into another country, you step into a different frame of mind.

And I can really talk to this because I was once a tourist of the United States. And I felt that energy. I felt that optimism.

I felt that passion. And I started to dream bigger. I started to, my heart started to beat faster every time I was in the United States.

And I know that’s what every traveler feels as soon as they come. There is a familiarity, because obviously so much of the world, our daily lives have been shaped by America already.

So people finally get to meet in person, the country that has been shaping their daily life so much. And it’s a very incredible experience.

3:05

2026 Tourism Outlook

Since your appointment in March, I’m sure your inbox has been very busy.

Lots of people knocking at your door. You have stakeholders from across the industry, even outside of the industry wanting to get your view, but also no doubt wanting to share their own priorities.

What are you and your team’s priorities for the coming 12 months?

Gordon, I want to bring as many international visitors in 2026 as possible. This will be a bumper year for American tourism. We have this summer, it’s incredible.

America turns 250, and we are hosting the world the same summer. We have got so much planned. America 250, Freedom 250.

It is unbelievable the range of events that are going on. And then obviously with the FIFA World Cup, that is the largest and most complex sporting event in human history. We’ve got people from all over the world.

Ticket sales are great. We are expecting record turnout. And it’s just going to be a fabulous time for anybody and everybody.

And anybody that has traveled to America before as a tourist, Gordon knows, we are the most welcoming, the most hospitable and the most fun people on the planet. And anyone that says otherwise, full of it.

You mentioned the World Cup and the warm welcome visitors will receive. There’s been discussion around price hikes on local transit in particular host markets.

What’s your perspective on that $150 fare to get the train from New York to the Stadium Over the Water in New Jersey, for example. There are little pinch points and tension points that have attracted negative press. What is your response?

Well, I appreciate the opportunity to address it, Gordon.

Look, I know that there are going to be other kind of funding sources that are trying to come in from the private sector to make life a little easier. We certainly want that.

I think it’s probably fair to say that globally, these kind of events usually have similar kind of price hike.

So we’re not, there’s nothing unique about some of those stories that are coming out, but we want to ease the squeeze and we want to make the World Cup as accessible as possible to as many international visitors as possible.

5:28

American Exceptionalism Defined

Of course, I don’t need to tell you this, but for the benefit of those listening, your title is Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism and Values.

From a tourism context, Nick, what does American exceptionalism mean to you?

Well, American exceptionalism is American greatness. And you can see American greatness in the tourism portfolio that we have. You can see it in the quality of our people, in how welcoming they are.

That is an American value. American hospitality isn’t an industry standard, it’s a national personality. And I am the brand ambassador for the United States.

I am somebody that is a spokesperson for American values. And our values are exceptional values. So the exceptionalism and the values, they all kind of converge together.

Tourism, as you know, doesn’t have a single scoreboard.

You can look at various metrics. I’m sure you do most days, arrivals, visitor spend, market share, etc. What metric matters most to you and your team?

All of them.

I mean, I want to make sure that America is number one in every single metric. I don’t want to see a metric where we’re underperforming. I think that the greatest country in the world should be performing at its maximum.

And I intend to dedicate every second that I have in this role to make sure that that happens.

7:02

Addressing Travel Concerns

We had the latest numbers out of US travel this morning.

It’s looking like it’s going to be a good year for international arrivals. Domestic was already fairly strong.

However, there were also mentioned in the US travel forecast, and I’m quoting here, some downside risks such as persistent inflation and energy prices, geopolitical conflict, softening consumer confidence.

A lot of these are, of course, macro factors that are outside you and your team’s immediate control. But it does also highlight long visa wait times and global perceptions of the United States.

You addressed this in your keynote a little earlier here at the WTTC. What is your message to those who are frankly a little wary about visiting the US right now?

My message Gordon is that if you come to America, you are going to be welcomed like you’ve never been welcomed in your life. From the moment that you land until the moment that you check into your hotel, it is going to be seamless.

It is going to be enjoyable. It is going to be a proper welcome. You are going to feel like you have just landed in the greatest country in the history of the world.

And it’s not just a feeling, it’s the reality. So my message to everybody listening is, do not take your news from the fake narratives that are deliberately and recklessly defaming America and the American people. It is not true.

What you hear, you should not be weary about coming to the United States as a traveler. You should be eagerly anticipating your arrival because you’re going to come to America and you’re going to have the time of your life.

And you’ll be talking about it until that glorious day comes when God calls you home.

Is there a degree of frustration, Nick, that here we are and you’re almost on the defensive, saying America is open for business when I’m sure you’d love to be speaking about other projects and initiatives.

Is there a degree of frustration that you’re having to counter what you call these false narratives?

Absolutely not. It’s very frustrating, Gordon. It’s very frustrating to be dealing with people that have such a distant relationship with the truth.

I want there to be truthful reporting.

No place, no system is perfect, but America is about as close to perfect as you can possibly get, and it’s going to become even more perfect, the whole travel experience, because I am going to be working as hard as possible to make sure that America

is always living up to its highest standards. is always living up to its highest standards.

9:37

World Cup Preparations

You mentioned a little earlier, the World Cup is the equivalent of 78 Super Bowls in just 40 days right across the nation.

In some ways, you could argue that the Olympics is easier, as it’s usually concentrated in just one city, or at least one metro area. Talk to us around the challenges and the opportunities related to such a diverse coast to coast event. Absolutely.

Look, something on a scale of this size, no country has ever attempted.

We’re about to pull off, so we’re very proud of that. There’s a lot that goes into it.

The Department of Homeland Security, the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup have all been working tirelessly since virtually the beginning of the second Trump administration to make sure that it’s going to be a fabulous experience for

everybody. But there’s no question, I mean, from security, for transit, there are lots of different components to this.

But we’re going to be fighting hard, we’re going to be doing our best, and I think we’re going to show the world why we are the number one tourism economy in the world.

10:43

Future Visitor Goals

Just a few final points, if I can.

There are a host of possible inbound markets. I’m sure there are some that you’ve got on your wish list to improve those numbers.

India, for example, is one that’s traditionally been very popular, even going against the grain last year, when there was some softness from other source markets.

What are the inbound source markets that you’re particularly excited about, and we’ll be putting a little bit of extra effort into in these first few months in a row?

Look, we’d love to see more travel from Europeans. We’d love to see more travel from the Japanese, from the South Koreans, from the Australians.

I think that there are multiple opportunities for us to really boost a lot of travel from various countries all around the world. And we’re going to be working hard at that, Gordon.

Nick, when we sit down again in 12 months, what would success look like for you?

I’d like 2026 to have been a bumper year for American tourism. I’m hoping that in 12 months, we are going to be inching closer to my goal of 100 million international visitors on average by the year 2030.

And I’m hoping that there will be, most importantly, millions of, tens of millions of people that will have come to America, experienced the World Cup, experienced America 250, experienced a whole raft of different things depending on what time of

And that was Nick Adams, Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values, speaking with me at the WTTC Leadership Summit in Egypt.

My thanks to Nick for his time. For the full written interview plus our ongoing coverage of the road to the 2026 World Cup and the business of global tourism, head over to skift.com. There you will also find our full archive of Skift podcasts.

I’m Gordon Smith. Thanks for listening, and we’ll catch you next time.