Julie Coker is leaving her post as president and CEO of New York City Tourism + Conventions to take the helm at Visit California. The move comes at a critical moment for California’s tourism industry: inbound visitor numbers remain sluggish, and Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in less than two years.
Coker’s tenure in New York was brief—she took over in late 2024 after leading the San Diego Tourism Authority. Her departure leaves NYC looking for its third tourism chief in as many years, a sign of the churn gripping destination marketing organizations nationwide.
Why California Needs a Turnaround
California has long been one of the most visited states in the U.S., but international arrivals have lagged post-pandemic. Many gateway cities saw strong domestic recovery, but overseas visitors—who typically spend more and stay longer—have been slower to return. The reasons are familiar: higher airfares, stronger dollar, visa processing delays, and competition from closer-to-home destinations.
Visit California’s new CEO will need to rebuild momentum quickly. The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles represent both a deadline and an opportunity. Major sporting events can reshape how the world sees a destination, as we’ve seen with campaigns around the World Cup. But they also expose infrastructure gaps, accommodation shortages, and transportation bottlenecks if not managed well.
A Track Record in Competitive Markets
Coker brings experience from two of the country’s most competitive tourism markets. At the San Diego Tourism Authority, she oversaw marketing for a city that competes with beach destinations worldwide. In New York, she navigated the complexities of promoting a city whose brand is already strong but whose hotel inventory, labor costs, and event calendar require constant recalibration.
California’s challenge is different in scale. It’s not a single city but an entire state with distinct regions: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, wine country, national parks, desert resorts. The task is to coordinate messaging, spread visitor spending beyond the gateway cities, and ensure smaller communities benefit from Olympic-related attention.
Other destinations have tackled similar issues by promoting lesser-known neighborhoods and regions, as Madrid has done with its “Te Faltan Calles” campaign.
What This Means for Travelers
For visitors planning trips to California, the next two years will likely bring more coordinated marketing, new packages tied to the Olympics, and potentially better infrastructure as the state prepares for global attention. Expect campaigns targeting Indian travelers and other high-value international markets that have been underserved since the pandemic.
If you’re planning to attend the Olympics in 2028, booking early will be essential. Los Angeles hotel inventory will tighten, and ancillary costs—ground transportation, dining, event tickets—will rise. But the Games also create opportunities to explore the state beyond the host city. Visit California will likely push itineraries that pair Olympic events with trips to Yosemite, the California coast, or wine regions.
Churn at the Top
The churn in destination marketing leadership isn’t unique to New York or California. Tourism organizations worldwide are navigating budget pressures, shifting traveler expectations, and the need to balance growth with sustainability. The role has become harder, more political, and more scrutinized.
Coker’s move signals that California sees the Olympics as a make-or-break moment. Whether Visit California can reverse sluggish inbound numbers and leave a lasting legacy beyond 2028 will depend on strategy, coordination, and how well the state manages the world’s attention when it arrives.
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