Barry Biggar Barry Biggar has been with Visit Fairfax as President and CEO since August of 2008.
Biggar came to Fairfax County Virginia from Bryan-College Station Texas where he held the position of President & CEO for their Convention & Visitors Bureau for over five years. He went to Texas after serving for four years as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the Lexington Convention & Visitors Bureau in Kentucky. Prior to Lexington, Barry was with the Calgary, Alberta, Canada Convention & Visitors Bureau for seven years where he held the positions of Manager responsible for Europe, Manager responsible for all of Asia and Asia Pacific, Director of Sales for both leisure and business travel markets and ultimately the role of Senior Vice President of all sales, marketing and research responsibilities.
Before joining the Bureau in Calgary, Barry worked in the hospitality sector of the tourism industry for three years, in a variety of departments and positions at two of Calgary’s most recognized hotels.
Prior to entering the Hospitality and Tourism industry, Barry worked in both the retail sales industry and banking.
Biggar has a degree in Commerce from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and prior to joining the Tourism Industry completed and received a diploma in Hotel & Restaurant Management at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, Alberta.
He holds the internationally recognized Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME), a program of Destination Marketing Association International, sanctioned by the University of Purdue Lafayette and the University of Calgary.
He has served on the Board of Directors of Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) the international association for Convention & Visitor Bureau’s, is a Past Chair and the Founding Chair of DMAI’s Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) the Accreditation program for Destination Marketing Organizations worldwide, was the Chair of Education for DMAI for three years and is a Past Chairman of the Board of Trustee’s for the international Destination and Travel Foundation.
Biggar is currently the Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association and serves as Chair of their Government Affairs Committee. He is a Board Member of the Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations. He is a past Chairman of the Texas Tourism Advisory Council for the Office of the Governor, is a past Board Member of the Texas Association of Convention & Visitor Bureau’s, and is active on many other State, Regional and National organizations, boards and task forces related to the Tourism Industry.