Dear partners and tourism stakeholders,

After a nationwide search, Visit Tucson announced today that Felipe Garcia, current interim President & CEO of Visit Tucson, has been chosen to lead the region’s destination marketing organization into its next chapter of driving tourism revenue for this community, effective immediately.

Garcia is replacing Brent DeRaad, who had been President & CEO since 2012. DeRaad resigned in October to head the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau in Texas.

“It was abundantly clear that Felipe has both the skills and experience for this new challenge,” said John Denker, Visit Tucson’s Board Chair.  “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.”

“I am honored to continue to serve this community in this new role,” said Garcia. “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.”

Please join all of us at Visit Tucson in congratulating Felipe on his new role.