Visit Anaheim Marquee Events

Caroline Beteta serves as president & CEO of the industry-led Visit California, a nonprofit organization created to market California as a premier travel destination to increase the state’s share of tourism-related revenues. She simultaneously serves as a strategic advisor for the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz). She is responsible for implementing Visit California’s global marketing program on behalf of the organization’s more than 18,000 investors and serves as the lead spokesperson for California’s travel industry. In her tenure, she has overseen a decade of growth for California’s travel industry, peaking in 2019 with a record $144.9 billion in economic benefit to the state. She has shepherded the growth of Visit California into a global marketing franchise and helped restore travel and tourism following numerous natural and economic crises.

She has previously served as Chair of the Board, as well as Acting CEO for Brand USA, where she provided strategic direction for the $200 million global program, interfacing with national congressional leaders and the administration. During a two-year term as National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association, she guided the successful merger of the Travel Industry Association with the Travel Business Roundtable and the creation of Brand USA. Caroline was recently elected to the U.S. Travel Association Executive Committee and serves as Vice Chair. Caroline also serves on the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council — Visit California was the first destination marketing organization invited to join the WTTC. 

Caroline has received numerous awards for her creative work and leadership in the travel industry, including induction into the U.S. Travel Association’s Hall of Leaders.

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

Tori Emerson Barnes is Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Policy, at the U.S. Travel Association, the leading voice for all segments of the U.S. travel and tourism industry. Barnes directs the association's public affairs and external facing strategy and engagement including government and political affairs, media and industry communications, marketing and research teams.

Barnes is highly regarded on Capitol Hill, throughout critical constituencies in Washington, D.C. and across the travel industry for managing a portfolio of domestic, business and international travel issues focused on transportation and infrastructure, security and travel facilitation, tax policy, sustainable travel practices, Brand USA, national parks and public lands, among others.

She is the manager of the association’s CEO Roundtable, a leader on multiple industrywide coalitions, the creator of U.S. Travel’s Travel Works Roadshow and a frequent presence in the news media. In addition, Barnes founded the annual Future of Travel Mobility event in 2021, a forward-looking advocacy conference providing industry thought leadership across the travel, transportation and technology sectors together with government officials and the media. 

Barnes is credited with securing pandemic-related federal relief utilized by hundreds of travel businesses and destinations. In 2020, she helped stand up the Let’s Go There Coalition that united dozens of major businesses and organizations in a national consumer campaign to inspire future travel amid the pandemic. The effort evolved into the Let’s Meet There Coalition to focus on the safe restart of business travel and professional meetings and events.

The Hill has named Barnes one of Washington’s top lobbyists for four consecutive years. In 2021, the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics recognized Barnes as a Top Lobbyist. She was also recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Travel by the Global Business Travel Association’s WINiT and selected as a Leading Lobbyist by Association Trends in 2020.

Barnes is on the board of the Congressional Women’s Softball Game and coaches the Members of Congress team, which plays an annual game versus women in the press to raise money for the Young Survival Coalition, an organization for young women facing breast cancer. She is also a founding member of the Boom Supersonic Sustainable Travel Forum. 

Prior to joining U.S. Travel in November 2017, Barnes was an integral member of General Motors’ federal affairs team for more than 14 years, where her efforts led to the enactment of the electric vehicle tax credit for consumers, among other policy wins. In her role, Barnes advised GM’s chief executive officer and senior company leaders. She has also served as a congressional liaison for the Republican National Committee, and as director of fundraising and events for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s National Capital Chapter.

A Washington, D.C., native, Barnes graduated from George Mason University and attended Miami University of Ohio. In 2014, Barnes participated in GM’s inaugural Stanford Business School Transformational Leadership program for senior executives. She is an avid runner and loves to exercise, ski, travel and spend time with her daughter, family and friends.

Adam Sacks is the President of Tourism Economics; an Oxford Economics company dedicated to unlocking the power of economics for the travel sector. 

For more than 25 years, Adam has worked with destinations, industry associations, and companies around the world in the areas of policy analysis, market assessments, and economic impact.

Adam’s work has provided the foundation for billions of dollars in capital investment decisions by hotel companies, developers, and investors.

Adam also manages the ongoing production of travel forecasts that have consistently guided the travel industry through uncertain times.

He is an authority on measuring the economic impact of visitor activity and his work regularly informs national and local government policy.