Visit Mesa President and CEO Marc Garcia was selected to serve the U.S. Travel Association as an at-large director for 2021-23.

Directors-elect will be sworn in next month during the board of directors meeting, according to a release.

USTravel.org represents all components of the nation’s travel industry that generates $2.6 trillion in economic output and supports more than 15 million American jobs, the release states.

Mr. Garcia has been at the helm of Visit Mesa, the city of Mesa’s destination marketing organization, since 2012. During this time, he has earned the organization numerous visitor industry accolades and marketing campaign awards and he was the catalyst for helping Mesa earn the first-ever Autism Certified City distinction in late 2019. Mr. Garcia leads a team of 12 full-time employees focused on selling and marketing Mesa as a must-experience destination in Arizona, the release states.

Mr. Garcia recently completed a three-year strategic plan for Visit Mesa whose process was centered on community engagement. The DestinationNEXT project was led by MMGY NextFactor and included more than 40 stakeholder interviews and nearly 130 participants who helped shape the ideal future of the organization, and ultimately, Mesa’s appeal as a premier travel destination.

Established goals of Visit Mesa are to continue the organization’s aggressive and strategic sales and marketing efforts with renewed fervor in the wake of COVID-19, now entering a recovery phase; and ensure destination development and collaboration with the city’s economic development team remains a steady focal point so that visitor-serving projects are actively considered to elevate Mesa’s tourism profile.

Mr. Garcia is working toward a destination master plan for Mesa while heralding support for the pending tourism marketing authorities legislation in Arizona, the release states.

Go to VisitMesa.com.