WTTC Global Summit Malta: California Takes the Global Stage

VALLETTA, Malta — When the leaders of the global travel and tourism industry gather on the Mediterranean island nation of Malta from October 7–9, 2026, California will be in the room — and its message may be particularly relevant at a complicated moment for U.S. tourism.

The 26th World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit will bring CEOs, tourism ministers, investors, destination leaders and other major industry stakeholders to Valletta, Malta’s historic capital and a UNESCO World Heritage City.

WTTC says the Summit will address innovation, resilience, sustainability, investment and the long-term growth of global Travel & Tourism.

For Malta, hosting the world’s most influential tourism executives is much more than another international conference.

Tourism is fundamental to this small Mediterranean island country’s economy. WTTC forecasts Travel & Tourism will contribute US$4.9 billion to Malta’s economy in 2026, equivalent to 16.9% of GDP, while supporting approximately 72,200 jobs — more than one in five jobs nationwide.

That makes Malta an appropriate laboratory for a discussion the global tourism sector increasingly needs to have: Tourism growth is important, but what kind of growth creates the greatest value for residents, businesses and destinations?

Among the destination leaders now announced for Malta is Caroline Beteta, the longtime President & CEO of Visit California and a member of WTTC’s Executive Committee.

WTTC announced Beteta’s participation with a question that could become one of the defining themes of the Malta Summit.

WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara said:

“Caroline has spent three decades building one of the world’s most recognisable destination brands.”

WTTC added that in Valletta, Beteta will bring that experience to a question the industry is only beginning to seriously ask: It is no longer simply about how many travelers arrive, but which travelers come, how they spend, when they travel and what they leave behind.

That distinction matters.

For decades, destinations often measured tourism success primarily through arrivals. Today, the more sophisticated conversation is about yield, seasonality, geographic distribution of visitors, local employment, tax generation, sustainability and whether tourism improves the communities travelers come to experience.

California has plenty to contribute to that conversation.

Beteta’s appearance in Malta also comes at an extraordinary moment in her career.

After nearly three decades leading California tourism, Beteta announced that she will retire in September 2026. Visit California subsequently selected Julie Coker, most recently President & CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions, to become only the organization’s second President & CEO, effective October 1.

That means the Malta Summit, taking place October 7–9, falls immediately after this historic leadership transition. WTTC nevertheless announced Beteta as a Malta participant and currently continues to list her as Visit California President & CEO and Executive Committee member.

Whatever title she carries onto the stage in Valletta, few tourism executives arrive with a comparable résumé.

Beteta helped create California’s first statewide tourism assessment program and transformed Visit California into a global destination-marketing powerhouse. She has served as Chair and Acting CEO of Brand USA, chaired the U.S. Travel Association, helped guide the merger that led to today’s U.S. Travel structure and played a role in the creation of Brand USA.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from UCLA, a master’s in Public Administration/Intergovernmental Affairs from USC and completed Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Executive Marketing Management Program.

Visit California was also the first destination marketing organization invited to join WTTC.

California doesn’t need tourism to establish itself as an economic powerhouse. With a GDP of approximately $4.25 trillion in 2025, California is the largest state economy in the United States and, measured against national economies, would rank as the world’s fourth largest. It is a global center for technology, venture capital, agriculture, manufacturing, entertainment, and innovation.

But tourism remains one of the engines that makes this enormous economy work at street level.

In 2025, travelers spent $158.9 billion in California. Tourism supported approximately 1.2 million jobs and generated $13.6 billion in state and local tax revenue. Visitors spent $38.5 billion on food service alone and $35.2 billion on accommodations.

Those numbers explain why tourism policy is economic policy.

Visitor dollars don’t stop at hotel reception desks. They reach restaurants, guides, attractions, rental-car companies, wineries, retailers, farmers, entertainment venues, museums, airports and thousands of small businesses. The taxes generated help support services used by residents as well as visitors.

California is therefore both a tourism destination and an enormous tourism ecosystem.

Marketing California as one homogeneous destination misses much of its appeal. Northern and Southern California can sometimes feel like different worlds connected by one spectacular coastline.

Southern California brings Los Angeles and Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu, Orange County, Disneyland, San Diego, surf culture, deserts, resorts, entertainment and an outdoor lifestyle supported by famously agreeable weather.

Northern California offers San Francisco and the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, redwood forests, dramatic coastline, Gold Country, Lake Tahoe access and the agricultural and culinary landscapes that helped shape California’s international identity.

Then there are destinations that don’t fit neatly into either label.

Napa and Sonoma are internationally recognized wine countries, but Sonoma also offers a Pacific coastline, farms, forests and small towns. The Central Coast connects places such as Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The Sierra Nevada delivers mountains, snow and Yosemite. The state’s deserts offer another California entirely.

Within one state, travelers can move from technology and money in Silicon Valley to vineyards, Hollywood studios, surf beaches, giant redwoods, ski slopes, deserts and some of America’s most productive farmland.

That diversity allows California to sell something increasingly valuable in global tourism: not just a destination, but dozens of very different journeys.

Another California export has an unusual ability to create tourism demand: the image of California itself.

For more than a century, Hollywood has projected California — and destinations around the world — onto cinema and television screens.

A movie can turn a beach, hotel, highway, neighborhood, restaurant, desert, island or small town into an international travel aspiration. California’s entertainment industry therefore has an influence extending well beyond studio economics. Movies and television can function as destination marketing on a scale few tourism boards could ever purchase.

And California is investing heavily to keep production at home.

During the first fiscal year of the state’s expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program, 170 approved projects were projected to generate $6.6 billion in direct California production spending, nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs, and more than 6,600 filming days.

International tourism also adds a dimension that cannot easily be captured on a balance sheet.

When California filmmakers shoot elsewhere, those productions can introduce millions of viewers to another city, country, hotel, landscape, or culture. A compelling location on screen can become tomorrow’s bucket-list destination. Hollywood doesn’t only sell California. It can sell the world.

California has also been unusually direct about something many destinations prefer to discuss behind closed doors: Travelers need to feel wanted.

Canada has historically been one of California’s most important international markets. In 2024, 1.8 million Canadians visited the state and spent approximately $3.7 billion. But amid deteriorating sentiment toward U.S. travel, Canadian demand weakened sharply.

California responded not by taking Canadians for granted but by courting them.

Visit California launched “California Loves Canada,” emphasizing the cultural ties, shared values and long-standing relationship between Californians and Canadians. The state backed that welcome with marketing, trade engagement and consumer offers.

Canada remained California’s second-largest international visitor market in 2025, with approximately 1.4 million visits. Overall, California attracted 16.4 million international visitors that year, representing 24% of all international visits to the United States.

The strategy is notable because California isn’t trying to win international visitors by criticizing competing American destinations.

It is differentiating itself by telling travelers what California believes it represents.

That message of welcome also extends to LGBTQ+ travelers — and California’s tourism industry isn’t treating the T in LGBTQ+ as an optional letter.

Visit California actively markets Pride events and LGBTQ+-friendly communities across the state. Its 2026 Pride tourism program highlights inclusive destinations stretching from Northern California through San Francisco, Gold Country and the Central Coast to Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.

Visit California was also a sponsor of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association Global Convention in Greater Palm Springs, where more than 760 delegates from 31 countries gathered to advance safer and more inclusive travel. The program included discussions around LGBTQ+ inclusivity and brought international LGBTQ+ creators and media on journeys around California.

For destination marketers, inclusion is not simply a political statement. It is also hospitality in its most basic form. People travel where they believe they will be welcomed.

California’s proposition is straightforward: Canadians are welcome. Gay travelers are welcome. Lesbian travelers are welcome. Bisexual, transgender and queer travelers are welcome. International visitors are welcome.

The message is not that California must be right for every traveler. It is that California wants every traveler to know the invitation exists.

This is what could make Caroline Beteta’s contribution in Malta especially interesting.

California has enormous visitor numbers, but its future tourism strategy cannot simply be about adding more bodies to already popular destinations.

Visit California’s latest forecast expects approximately 275.5 million visits in 2026, with visitor spending potentially reaching $166.5 billion. At that scale, the question becomes more sophisticated.

Can travelers be encouraged to discover less-visited regions? Can international visitors stay longer? Can demand be shifted into shoulder seasons? Can tourism spending reach smaller communities? Can film and television inspire travel beyond established icons? Can a destination protect its brand when international politics affect traveler sentiment? And can visitors be made to feel genuinely welcome regardless of nationality, gender identity or sexual orientation?

Those questions extend far beyond California. They belong in Valletta.

From October 7–9, Malta will temporarily become a command center for global tourism.

WTTC represents many of the world’s leading travel and tourism companies, spanning hotels, aviation, airports, cruise lines, tour operators, technology, travel agencies, car rental, and other major sectors. Its membership includes more than 200 companies.

For a country where tourism contributes nearly 17% of GDP, Malta is more than a beautiful backdrop. It represents exactly what is at stake.

Tourism creates jobs. It generates foreign exchange and tax revenue. It sustains restaurants, transportation, hotels, cultural institutions, and small businesses. It can revitalize communities and finance infrastructure.

But destinations increasingly understand that success cannot be defined by arrivals alone.

- Which visitor comes?

- How much do they spend?

- When do they arrive?

- Where do they go?

- Do they respect the destination?

- Do local residents benefit?

- And perhaps most importantly: What do travelers leave behind?

Caroline Beteta has spent almost three decades selling one of the most powerful destination brands on Earth.

In Malta, as one chapter of her career closes and another chapter for Visit California begins, the bigger discussion may no longer be about how successfully California can attract the world.

It may be about what the world — including other destinations — can learn from California.

Reporting originally appeared via eTurboNews. Read the full source for additional context.