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Brand USA Names Caroline Beteta Interim CEO

October 8, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Caroline Beteta prendra la direction par intérim de Brand USA à compter du 9 novembre 2026 - Photo : Brand USA

Aer Lingus

Brand USA has named Caroline Beteta as interim President and Chief Executive Officer. She will assume the role on November 9, 2026.

She brings to this mission more than thirty years of experience in tourism and a deep knowledge of the organization, having notably served as chair of the board and CEO on an interim basis.

She led Visit California from January 1998 to September 2026. Under her leadership, the agency notably expanded the funding for tourism promotion, opened offices internationally, and conducted marketing campaigns on a global scale.

Une priorité : la reconduction du mandat de Brand USA

Caroline Beteta connaît Brand USA depuis sa création. Elle avait participé à la mise en place des fondations de l’organisation lorsqu’elle était présidente nationale de l’U.S. Travel Association, avant d’y occuper plusieurs fonctions, dont vice-présidente chargée des opérations, présidente du conseil d’administration et PDG par intérim.

“My priority will be clear: securing Brand USA’s mandate renewal and ensuring that this essential organization can continue its mission of welcoming visitors from around the world to the United States,” she says in a statement.

She will succeed Fred Dixon, who will leave Brand USA on November 13 after more than two years at the helm. He will then join NYC Tourism + Conventions as president and CEO starting December 1.

USA: The Only Major Country in the World to Lose Tourists

October 7, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

USA : "Ces politiques envoient un mauvais signal" aux touristes - Depositphotos

Aer Lingus

The problem runs deep, and the recent dispute with Canada is likely to worsen the situation.

Tourism in the United States is unable to stem its slide.

The FIFA World Cup didn’t move the needle. The industry, which generated $169 billion in revenue in 2025, continues its downward trajectory, even though in 2024 the sector had yielded $181 billion in spillovers, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the decline is around 5.8% for the first eight months of the year compared with a year that was already down.

This contradicts the statements of Nick Adams, the Trump administration’s Tourism guy, who told TourMaG.com that travelers had anticipated in 2025 that visiting the USA in 2026 would be more appealing, as the year was shaping up to be significantly more interesting in America.

And that would have been the case, due to the World Cup, but also the celebrations of the country’s 250th independence anniversary and the 100th anniversary of the legendary Route 66.

And yet.

USA: “These policies are sending a bad signal”

Geoff Freeman, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, revealed that the number of visitors would be down by 20% from its 2019 peak.

He also notes that the United States is “the only major country in the world to lose tourists, it’s astonishing“.

In September of last year, Freeman had the opportunity to speak with Donald Trump to discuss the situation.

He urges the president to back the goal of welcoming 100 million international visitors by 2030, even though his policies and statements are having opposite effects on international travel flows.

Canada, the leading source market for travelers to the United States, is down 23% over the past two years. Germany and France are down 16% and 15% respectively compared with 2025, a year that was already retreating for these two countries.

“Our industry is being hit hard by the 25% drop in Canadian visitors. The sooner trade disputes are resolved, the sooner we can restart our tourism economy. We must capitalize on what works: expanding the FIFA Pass concept to more events, speeding up visa processing and modernizing the traveler experience, while removing obstacles such as long visa wait times, high visa fees, increased social media scrutiny and reduced investment in the ‘USA’ brand. “, commented the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association to Travel Weekly.

United States: Arrivals figures (August 2026)

Key figures

Overseas arrivals, August 2026
-11.8%
3,079,268 visitors

Monthly year-over-year variation, January–August

Cumulative January–August-5.8%21.41 M arrivals

French visitors in August-22.6%143,242, 7th market

Business / leisure visas (August)+11.7% / -14.0%301,130 / 2,506,687 arrivals

Top-20 markets by growth3 of 20Israel, Taiwan, Poland

Monthly year-over-year variation (%)

Variation by country of residence

Top 10 outbound markets

1 / 4

Source: Preliminary Summary Analysis by Country of Residence, August 2026. Preliminary data, excluding Canada and Mexico (Central America excluding Mexico, China excluding Hong Kong). Year-over-year changes relative to 2025.

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Monopoly Made in the USA Goes Wrong, Revealing Limits of Relocation

October 2, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

The idea seemed perfect. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, in 2026, the American company WS Game Company, which produces board games, conceived a special edition of Monopoly. A 100% made in America edition. In both the game’s street names and the production steps, everything was to ooze America. The idea came to Jonathan Silva, co-owner of WS, after Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Chinese-made imports, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“It was a colossal headache. I hope I never have to go through that again”, now thinks Jonathan Silva, as just under 5,000 copies of Monopoly Americana finally saw the light of day this summer. The design, logistics, and price of this edition of the iconic game proved far more difficult to execute than expected. And it is not even 100% American.

A More Expensive and Lower-Quality Game

WS has been producing luxury or vintage editions of famous games for decades. For 25 years, the entirety of its catalog has been manufactured in China. To succeed in this bet, it thus had to rethink its entire production chain and forge ties with subcontractors based in the United States. This is where the problem lies. WS struggled enormously to find companies capable of producing the Monopoly components at a reasonable price.

Jonathan Silva believed he could produce Monopoly Americana for a price 20% higher than the price at which he produced the Vintage Monopoly in China. The cost, in fact, was 100% higher. And the quality was lower. Whereas Chinese companies offered wooden components, the American factories could only provide plastic for the price offered. Gone were the pretty rounded finishes on the box, or the magnets that kept the pieces from falling when buyers opened the box.

The WS Executives Were Unable to Produce This Piece in the United States

As for the Monopoly Americana dice? They are Chinese. No American company could produce 5,000 sets. While Chinese firms are accustomed to accommodating client requests, American ones, they do not operate that way. “We started by assessing the capacities of the factories and then designed the product”, explains Jonathan Silva about the manufacturing process.

For the box and some pieces, WS turned to the Belgian group Cartamundi, which runs a massive factory in Massachusetts. The partners’ expertise in board games should have made things easier, but that was not the case. The final blow came with the production of the plastic trays in which the cards and pieces are stored. The American subcontractor’s prototypes kept breaking. This delayed the game’s release by several weeks. After 14 months of work, just under 5,000 copies were released. While the Chinese version of Vintage Monopoly costs $45, you have to budget $80 to get Americana.

USA Native American Tribes Tour with Revamerica Tours – Inbound Group Travel USA

September 26, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

A journey between sky and earth and deeply rooted ancestral traditions:

Climats du Monde

States visited: Arizona & New Mexico

• SEDONA

A backdrop of vast ochre-colored rocks contrasting with green junipers, the magic of the place is a huge breath of fresh air!

The positive energies of Sedona’s vortices fascinate. According to Native American beliefs, these energy spirals are said to possess healing powers.

Historically established here, the Sinagua tribe cultivated medicinal plants there; today it is the capital of the New Age movement in the USA.

According to initiates, the place offers benefits: ease of meditation, serenity, calm, inner peace…

• PETRIFIED FOREST

A site of incredible contrasts within this landscape of the petrified forest at the heart of the Painted Desert.

Beside these petrified trees dating back millions of years, fossil remains of shells and fish, also petrified, can be found.

The region’s uplift created tensions that split the tree trunks. Today, wind and water continue to erode sediments and bring buried trunks to the surface. In some places, up to 90 meters of fossilized material remain to be excavated. It is one of the world’s largest fossil concentrations. About 225 million years ago, this high plateau was a vast floodplain crossed by numerous waterways. Large trees were carried by floods onto this plain and were covered with silt, mud, and volcanic ash. This blanket of sediments cut off oxygen and slowed the decay of the trunks. Gradually, silica-rich underground waters seeped into the wood and gradually filled the spongy tissues. During drier periods, the water evaporated, leaving silica in the cells of the wood. This process continued slowly, silica crystallized into quartz, providing a faithful mold of the internal structure and the external shape of the tree trunks. These trunks were preserved as petrified wood.

The park covers two sectors linked by a north-south orientation corridor: the northern sector is formed by a Triassic geological formation called Painted Desert (French: Désert peint).

The southern part contains most of the petrified trunks as well as Native American petroglyphs.

• INTRUSION INTO NEW MEXICO

A region rich in cultural blend stemming from Native American cultures and the Hispanic colonial influence, with towns of colonial charm and architectural gems in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and timeless adobe constructions in Taos Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo, the “city of the sky.”

• IN MEMORY OF THE WINDTALKERS

In the capital of the Navajo Nation, a memorial is dedicated to the Navajo heroes who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.

Voyage aux USA au coeur des tribus avec Revamerica Tours, réceptif Groupes Etats-Unis

In France – Product Manager: Charline

[email protected]

In the USA – DMC Director: Cathy

[email protected]

>> Revamerica Tours in the DESTIMAG Directory

Route 66 USA: Santa Monica to the Bagdad Café

August 18, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Santa Monica, station banéaire de rêve. Photos : PB, composition générée par IA

CroisiEurope

On the edge of the sprawling Los Angeles metropolitan area, Santa Monica (90,000 residents) is a dream seaside destination perched along the Pacific: sunlit beaches, surfing spots, a magnificent pier, an amusement park whose Ferris wheel runs on solar power, elegant residential districts, stylish hotels like the Pierside, and generous restaurants such as The Lobster serving delicious grilled lobsters.

To truly inhabit this California city that has served as a backdrop for countless films and TV shows—from Pacific Blue to Barbie, from The Sting to Forrest Gump and Iron Man—, there is nothing like pedaling between the beach and the sea along the South Bay Bicycle Trail, before heading to Venice of America where, for a century, canals imitate Venice in Italy.

The other major attraction in Santa Monica is the “End of the Trail” sign planted on its pier.

It marks the end of the legendary Route 66. Tourists crowd at its base to photograph themselves there!

Yesterday, the “Mother Road”…

« End of the trail », un panneau qui aimante les touristes - Photo : PB

A legendary route that embodies the American dream in popular culture, Route 66 has linked, since 1926, the East to the West of the United States, from Chicago (Illinois) to Santa Monica (California), crossing three time zones and eight states, and covering nearly 4,000 kilometers.

Nicknamed “The Mother Road,” it was immortalized by John Steinbeck in his famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath: the writer depicts some of the small farmers who, ruined by the “Great Depression” of the 1930s and by repeated dust storms, fled to California hoping to find work, land, and a future.

This long ribbon of two-lane asphalt symbolizes both America’s golden age and the nostalgia of the 1950s–60s.

It was during those years that the Interstate Highways, powerful, safer, faster, and better suited to increasingly heavy traffic, began to substitute Route 66.

In the early 1980s, Interstate 40 effectively delivered the coup de grâce.

Following the downgrading of Route 66 in June 1985, its route completely disappeared from official maps.

…today, “Historic Route”

La Route 66, balisée de frais, dans le désert Mojave - Photo : PB

This downgrade proved a tragedy for the small towns traversed by Route 66.

Overnight, traffic collapsed and motels, restaurants, cafés, trading posts and gas stations struggled to survive.

In response, Angel Delgadillo, a barber in Seligman (Arizona), and a handful of stalwarts fought to achieve designation as “Historic Route 66.” Ultimately, by the late 1990s, the United States Congress established a preservation program for this legendary itinerary and the treasures it shelters.

Since then, signage and “Historic Route 66” plaques have been installed; motels, shops, and historic places along Route 66 have been restored. Since then, Route 66 has enjoyed a remarkable revival.

Its historic alignment could not be preserved in the highly urbanized zones around Los Angeles, full of bridges and interchanges.

To reach Barstow – our first stop, we thus left Santa Monica via Interstate 10 as part of a press trip organized by Brand USA with the help of Cercle des voyages, a French tailor-made travel specialist, ranked in 2023 among the 50 best travel agencies in the world for the United States by the Chairman’s Circle Honors.

The road trip program was developed with the involvement of Anthony Enault, head of North America Production, who joined us as well.

Barstow, a major rail hub

A Barstow, la Route 66 et le train sont l'alpha et l'omega de l'histoire locale - Photo : PB, composition générée par IA

Barstow (25 000 inhabitants) developed from 1860, after the discovery of silver mines : new rail lines had to be built to move the ore through the arid Mojave Desert.

At the time, steam locomotives needed coal but also enormous amounts of water. In Barstow there was water: rail convoys would stock up there and the railway workers would eat and sleep there.

Even if, thanks to its two classification yards, this town remains an important rail hub, that era is no more.

Nevertheless, the vast double-gallery buildings with colonnades of the old station named “Harvey House Casa del Desierto” still look fine.

Néanmoins, ses salles de restaurant ont été reconverties en salles de réception. Son pittoresque Musée de la Route 66 a rouvert voici peu grâce à de nouveaux volontaires, et son Western America Railroad Museum s’efforce de valoriser sa collection d’anciens wagons exposés en plein air.

Calico, “Ghost Town”

A Calico, ville fantôme, on se croit encore au temps de la conquête de l'Ouest - Photo : PB, composition générée par IA

To relive the saga of the American West, nothing beats taking a detour through the arid landscapes where Calico lies hidden.

Founded in 1881, this small town reached its peak (with 3,500 inhabitants) at the end of the 19th century thanks to its silver mines. Alas, when the price of this metal collapsed, its mines declined. Calico was abandoned in 1907.

Re-purchased in the 1950s and restored by Walter Knott, this “Ghost Town” has become a paid tourist attraction (entrance: $8).

With its wooden houses, its church, its school, its hotel, its saloon, its blacksmith, its sheriff and judge, its prison, its coffin maker, one almost feels in a genuine Far West village.

Calico also hosts many souvenir shops, restaurants, cafes, a museum, a small tourist train and offers visits to Maggie Mine, gold-panning demonstrations and even Western shows with… shootouts. Folkloric? Exaggerated? Perhaps, but one gets drawn into the game…

Vintage gas stations and motels

Bagdad Café, a myth

Bagdad Café est devenu un lieu de culte et de pèlerinage - Photo PB, composition générée par IA

The most striking encounter on the California section of Route 66 remains Bagdad Café. Truly, a genuine myth, not just a café.

This somewhat dilapidated motel sits in Newsberry Springs, still in the Mojave Desert: it is where Percy Arlon’s film, awarded in 1989 with a César for Best Foreign Film, was shot.

As soon as you step inside, the film’s atmosphere — it tells the unlikely friendship between the café’s owner, jaded by life’s rough edges, and a German tourist who has lost everything — grips you again.

Bagdad Café offers ice cream, burgers, fries, sandwiches and souvenirs. It is also a place of pilgrimage with an unparalleled atmosphere. From floor to ceiling and across the walls, the room is filled with flags from around the world, one-dollar bills signed by visitors, police patches, postcards, stickers, and sweet notes…

On the wall, a poster “Make Bagdad Great Again” even invites visitors to contribute funds to save this place.

Andrée Pruett, the historic owner, died on January 13 of the previous year. Despite rumors of permanent closure, Bagdad Café still survives: an unusual couple seems to have taken over.

He is as taciturn as she is original, with glittering bell-bottoms and a Stetson in American colors topped by a dazzling diadem encrusted with jewels.

She was as welcoming as she was talkative. It was hard to leave. But how can one resist the lure of Route 66?

To be continued: Road Trip in the United States, along Route 66, from Oatman to Scottsdale

Publicado por Paula Boyer Jefe de la sección LuxuryTravelMaG – TourMaG.com
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Bali, Cuba, USA, Egypt: Tourism News Roundup [ABO]

June 27, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

La revue de presse internationale de la semaine - Depositphotos.com Auteur serezniy

CroisiEurope

In the May 2026 press review overview for the week starting June 1, 2026:

Global tourism continues to grow despite geopolitical tensions

Bali: the “taxi war” makes life harder for tourists

Egypt: tourism keeps advancing strongly in 2026

Madrid bets on tourism intelligence to manage its growth

United States: international flight prices are starting to come down

Cuba: major Spanish hotel groups retreat under American pressure

Tokyo: Shibuya now fines for street littering

A new 1,300 km railway line will connect Germany to the Ukrainian border

Hotels see an edge over booking platforms thanks to AI

Oddity! Off to “hell”: the 666 bus to Hel makes a grand return to Poland

Global tourism remains on the rise despite geopolitical tensions

Le tourisme international a progressé de 2 % au premier trimestre 2026, avec environ 307 millions de voyageurs dans le monde, selon ONU Tourisme. @depositphotos/potowizard

International travel grew by 2% in the first quarter of 2026, totaling around 307 million travelers worldwide, according to UNWTO.

Although the year began with solid momentum, the conflict in the Middle East slowed growth in March, triggering flight disruptions, higher oil prices and increased transport costs.

Europe and Africa posted the strongest results, while the Middle East saw a steep drop in arrivals (-14%).

Facing geopolitical uncertainty and rising travel costs, experts suggest tourists may favor closer destinations and seek better value for money. Despite these challenges, the industry continues to show global resilience.

Read more on untourism.int

Bali: the “taxi war” complicates life for tourists

Une bataille invisible entre VTC et conseils de village traditionnels fait gonfler les prix des courses des taxis. @depositphotos/OlgaGauri

In Bali, a long-standing conflict pits ride-hailing drivers using apps like Grab against the banjar, village councils that regulate traditional taxi activity. As a result, in some areas, VTC drivers refuse to pick up customers for fear of intimidation or assault.

Tourists are left with no option but to use local taxis, which are often much more expensive, with fares set by the banjar. According to the South China Morning Post, a large portion of the fare goes to these village councils. This situation also reflects growing economic tensions on the island as tourism slows in 2026.

More to read on the South China Morning Post site

Egypt: tourism continues its strong growth in 2026

L’ouverture du Grand Musée Égyptien au Caire a boosté l’activité touristique du pays. @depositphotos/Tamer_Soliman

Egypt welcomed 6.1 million tourists from January to April 2026, a 7% increase compared with the same period in 2025.

The country’s success is partly explained by the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the appeal of the Red Sea coastal resorts, and prices deemed competitive by international travelers.

Backed by substantial international promotion, Egypt now targets an ambitious goal: to reach 30 million visitors per year by 2030.

An article from traveldailynews.com

United States: international flight prices are starting to come down

Cuba: major Spanish hotel groups retreat under American pressure

Les groupes espagnols Meliá et Iberostar ont annoncé l’arrêt d’une partie importante de leurs activités hôtelières à Cuba.@depositphotos/sepavone

The Spanish groups Meliá and Iberostar have announced the closure of a large portion of their hotel activities in Cuba, in response to the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

This withdrawal comes amid a grave tourism crisis in Cuba. The country recorded nearly a 56% drop in tourist arrivals at the start of 2026, while several airlines have reduced or suspended flights to the island.

An article from euronews.com

Tokyo: Shibuya now fines for street littering

L’arrondissement de Shibuya, au cœur de Tokyo, verbalise les personnes qui jettent des déchets dans les espaces publics.@depositphotos/sepavone

The Shibuya ward, at the heart of Tokyo, has begun imposing fines on people who discard waste in public spaces. Since June 1, 2026, offenders face a 2,000-yen fine (about $12.50) as part of a campaign to curb illegal dumping.

Authorities say the problem has worsened with rising tourist numbers and street-level consumption around Shibuya’s busy railway hubs. Around fifty officers will patrol to issue fines. Meanwhile, take-away food and beverage shops must now provide trash bins for customers.

Read on nhk.or.jp

A new 1,300 km railway line will connect Germany to the Ukrainian border

La compagnie tchèque Leo Express lancera le 25 juin 2026 une nouvelle liaison ferroviaire directe de plus de 1 300 kilomètres, qui reliera la ville polonaise de Przemyśl, à la frontière ukrainienne, à Francfort et son aéroport.@depositphotos/jonnysek

The Czech company Leo Express will launch on June 25, 2026 a new direct rail link of more than 1,300 kilometers, one of the longest in Europe.

The train will connect the Polish city of Przemyśl, near the Ukrainian border, with Frankfurt and its airport, passing through Krakow, Prague, Dresden and Leipzig.

This daily line aims to strengthen links between Western and Eastern Europe while facilitating access to Ukraine.

Passengers will have on board Wi‑Fi, power outlets, air conditioning and dining services on this nearly 19‑hour night ride.

An article from euronews.com

Hotels see an edge over booking platforms thanks to AI

Selon des experts, les groupes hôteliers pourraient mieux tirer parti de l’intelligence artificielle que les agences de voyages en ligne (OTA).@depositphotos/Jirsak

At the IHIF hotel conference in New York, several analysts highlighted that hotel groups could leverage artificial intelligence more effectively than online travel agencies (OTAs).

According to Barclays, hotels enjoy a major advantage thanks to their loyalty programs, their customer data, and the strength of their brands — areas where AI could boost personalization and customer relations.

Even though excitement around AI remains measured in the hotel industry, professionals already see significant potential to improve operational efficiency and commercial performance. Analysts, however, caution that the real impact of AI on traveler spending and the hotel sector is still in its early stages.

A Skift.com briefing

Insolite ! Off to “hell”: FlixBus brings back the 666 bus to Hel, Poland

FlixBus relance la mythique ligne de bus 666 vers la station balnéaire de Hel, en Pologne. @depositphotos/philipus

Good news for travelers who enjoy dark humor and unusual selfies: the legendary bus route 666 to the seaside town of Hel, Poland returns this summer thanks to FlixBus. This link of more than 1,300 km will connect Krakow to the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic coast, passing through Warsaw and several popular vacation stops.

Known for years as “the bus to hell” due to the wordplay between Hel and hell, the route had become a real tourist and social media magnet.

Discontinued in 2023 after religious protests, bus 666 is revived today with an explicit wink from FlixBus, which bets on humor as much as on the appeal of this highly popular summer destination.

Read on euronews.com