Felipe Garcia, the current interim president and CEO of Visit Tucson, has been chosen to lead the destination marketing organization. He replaces the CVB's former president and CEO Brent DeRaad, who resigned in October to head the Arlington (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Felipe Garcia, president and CEO, Visit TucsonBefore heading the CVB, Garcia served as Visit Tucson's executive vice president, where he led "Vamos a Tucson," partnering with area economic
development and community organizations to drive tourism from Mexico. He also serves as vice president of the Delice Network, a consortium of destinations that collaborate on developing
programs and strategies that use food and gastronomy as a tourism and
economic development platform.
Prior to joining Visit Tucson, Garcia worked for the city of Tucson
as an economic development specialist focused on trade opportunities
between Mexico and Southern Arizona.
In a statement announcing Garcia's promotion, Visit Tucson board chair John Denker said, “It was abundantly clear that Felipe has both the skills and experience for this new challenge. Beyond just already knowing the business and staff of Visit Tucson, his passion for his work and the future of this community shine through in all that he does.”
Garcia said that he is "honored to continue to serve this community in this new role." He added, “Visit Tucson is a leader in both this industry and in driving economic impact for the people of metro Tucson. Along with Visit Tucson’s incredible team, I’m looking forward to finding new opportunities and continuing to be a catalyst towards attracting attention for this region.”