By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ California is in the spotlight, and for all the right reasons. As the FIFA World Cup continues (with games being played in Los Angeles and San Francisco), and mega events like the Super Bowl (2027) and Olympics (2028), the Golden State is in the midst of a golden era, national news aside.
Oh, and Visit California just re-upped its Canadian representation for another five years.
“We’re leading with optimism,” outgoing Visit California president and CEO Caroline Beteta, declared at the recent IPW trade conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “We are pushing ahead despite some of the headlines (Trump, tariffs, Iran) we’re all experiencing. California is the ultimate host – the ultimate Super Host – for all these mega events… The state is built for the global stage and there’s never been a better time to experience (it) with so much new product coming alive.
“It’s really giving travellers so many reasons to visit using the events as an anchoring moment to come and visit the Golden State.”
Even as U.S. travel demand softened last year, California outperformed the rest of the country to remain the No. 1 tourism destination in the United States. While room demand fell by 0.5% across the country in 2025, California sold an additional 1.2 million hotel room nights, an increase of 0.8% while generating $158.9 billion in travel spending, according to new economic impact research released by Visit California,
“Tourism remains an incredibly resilient pillar of California’s economy thanks to the strong foundation built over decades by the state’s travel industry,” said Beteta, adding that California tourism is focussed on four key words: diversity, creativity, openness and freedom.
“International travellers can help shape the California story and the next chapter is going to be written by all of us together, I firmly believe that,” she added. “We all know global perceptions of the U.S. are complicated, but our message here in California is simple: California welcomes the world.”
Canada
To help ensure Canadians continue to be among them, Visit California announced this week that it has retained Zeno Group Canada as its agency of record in Canada for another five years following a competitive review.
The renewal extends a partnership that began in 2022, with Zeno continuing to lead integrated communications, travel trade engagement, partnerships and content development for the destination marketing organization in Canada.
“Canada remains one of California’s most important international markets, and Zeno is an important strategic partner in helping Visit California engage with Canadian travellers and industry stakeholders,” said Beteta. “Their deep understanding of the market, combined with their ability to deliver integrated, insight-driven programs, makes them the right extension of our team to help strengthen our connection with Canadian travellers in the years ahead.”
Since representing Visit California, Zeno has led several high-profile initiatives including the ‘California Loves Canada’ campaign, which strengthened connections between California and Canadian travellers, media and industry partners.
“We’re incredibly proud to continue our partnership with Visit California and build on the momentum we’ve created over the past four years,” said Julie Georgas, President and Head of Creative at Zeno Group Canada. “Our work has focused on celebrating the deep connection between Californians and Canadians and reinforcing that California remains a welcoming destination for Canadian visitors. We’re excited to continue building on that foundation in the years ahead.”
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