CH&LA Lodging News July/August 2018

www.calodging.com July/August 2018 9 About Caroline Beteta Caroline Beteta serves as president & CEO of the industry- led Visit California, a nonprofit organization created to market California as a premier travel destination and to increase the state’s share of tourism-related revenues. She simultaneously serves as the Director of Tourism in California’s Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz). Beteta is responsible for implementing Visit California’s $126 million global marketing program and serves as the lead spokesperson for California’s $132.4 billion travel industry. She has shepherded the growth of Visit California into a global marketing franchise delivering millions of visitors and billions of dollars of economic growth to the state every year. The resulting “All Dreams Welcome” initiative effectively rolls out the red carpet for international travelers with efforts across paid, owned, earned and trade channels in markets with the greatest sensitivities. These include the Golden State’s top two international markets, Mexico and Canada, which is why in 2017, Visit California led a C-level delegation on back-to-back goodwill missions that included three gateway mayors—Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, the late San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee, and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer— producing substantial global media coverage. Partnerships with gateway DMOs have generated localized campaigns, and despite projections of softening, we have instead seen sustained growth across the board. While continued efforts in key markets reinforce this message, the spirit behind “All Dreams Welcome” represents a much larger point: We are not an island. We live in an impossibly connected matrix of countries, cultures, people and beliefs—and if we want to succeed, we must learn as much as possible about the people we are trying to reach. Magnet for the World California has always shined as a beacon on a hill of sorts, calling to dreamers who see the state as a place where innovation and creativity are a part of its very DNA. This provides a distinct advantage for California’s tourism community, but ultimately it is the industry itself that brings the California Dream to life. We see this almost every day through Visit California’s year-round trade efforts, press trips, familiarization tours and more: California accommodations are the ones actually delivering those unforgettable experiences—and it is working. As we look to even bigger goals on the horizon, nothing is out of reach if we remain united and stay true to our creed: Dream Big. 