Caroline Beteta

President & CEO Visit California 

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. After serving two years as Vice Chair of Operations for Brand USA, Caroline was elected as Chair of the Board, where she provides strategic direction for the projected $200 million global program. She recently served a two-year term as National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association, where she guided the successful merger of the Travel Industry Association with the Travel Business Roundtable (to form the U.S. Travel Association). Additionally, she has received numerous awards for her creative work and leadership in the travel industry, including 2009 State Tourism Director of the Year. 

Caroline simultaneously serves as the Deputy Secretary for Tourism in California’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. In her dual capacity, she is responsible for implementing Visit California’s $50 million global marketing program and serves as the lead spokesperson for California’s $102.3 billion travel industry. Caroline has shepherded the growth of Visit California into a global marketing franchise whose brand advertising alone generated incremental visitor spending returns of more than $5.5 billion last year. Under her leadership, California’s share of U.S. domestic travel has grown by 1.3 percent – the equivalent of approximately 39 million trips in 2011. 

Caroline holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of California at Los Angeles. She obtained a master’s degree in Public Administration/Intergovernmental Affairs from the University of Southern California. She has also completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Marketing Management Program.