Author: Destination Mekong

Bringing positive change in the lives of the most vulnerable and discovering new cultures have been the two key drivers of my career. I have been working on various capacity building projects targeting the social and economic inclusion of disadvantaged populations, most of them focused on tourism training. Most notably, I supported the launch and implementation of the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality's skills training programs. I also have coordinated the Association of Southeast Asian Social Enterprises for Training in Hospitality & Catering, a network that brings together vocational training centers that provide underprivileged youth with a path to employment in the tourism and hospitality industry across Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. These experiences convinced me of the difference that tourism can make for people if destinations are able to harness its benefits while mitigating its negative effects.

I worked in the travel industry for almost three decades, initially as a travel trade journalist, specializing in sustainable tourism, and later in executive positions, doing business development for global players such as Microsoft, Expedia, and Accor Asia Pacific, with career stations in Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore. My wife is from Myanmar and together we decided to move to Myanmar and build “Loikaw Lodge by the Lake”, a small, upscale Boutique Hotel in remote Kayah State. That was back in 2015. Shortly after opening our Lodge, The CultureTrip.com recommended the Lodge as one of the ten "Best Hotels to stay at in Myanmar". The Lodge is also featured in the "Experience Mekong Collection" that showcases “innovative, responsible travel experiences and businesses in the Greater Mekong Subregion, based on unique best practices and successful implementation and execution of innovations in responsible tourism development”. In my spare time I love to explore, mingle with local people and take portraits of the different ethnics that make Myanmar and the Mekong region so diverse and unique as a destination.

I have nearly 30 years of working in responsible tourism, protected areas, and sustainable rural development. This started from the grassroots as a Ranger in UK National Parks to now supporting governments and international organizations. Since leaving the UK in 2006, a major focus of my activities has been in the transition countries of South-Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus I have worked with and on projects supported by a diverse range of international organizations including the UNWTO, UNDP, EU, KfW, ADB, WWF, and the World Bank as well as directly for government agencies and national NGOs. Since 2018 I have been Team Leader/International Resident Expert for the AFD funded Tourism Commercial Capacity Building Programme of the Ministry of Tourism of the Royal Government of Cambodia, and from March 2022, as well as my Destination Mekong role will be supporting the EU with work on an Inclusive Tourism Recovery Plan for Vietnam.

My entrepreneurial edge was sharpened, while studying medicine and working in a psychiatric hospital in Germany, when starting a unique food catering business, after buying a crepe maker in France, and offering crepes to parties in hospitals and street fairs, before crepes became popular in Germany. I went on to study hotel management in Switzerland, graduating with an MBA from Cornell University, and currently completing my doctorate thesis from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

When I was 24 years old, I was a General Manager of an 80-room golf resort in Germany, and I went on to work for luxury hotel companies from Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Dusit Hotels & Resorts, before moving into tourism. My first step into government was working for the Canadian Tourism Commission (now Destination Canada) as head of Marketing Strategy. Digital & CRM, after being  appointed as Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office by the six member countries.

Always having  been fascinated by Asia, I move to Beijing for 5 years and co-founded pioneering marketing and travel technology firm Dragon Trail in 2008, as well published the China Travel Trends books and online magazine, while being Chair for PATA China (Pacific Asia Travel Association). After almost 8 years heading the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, I have recently left Bangkok for the Caribbean, having been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Tourism Board of the Republic of Barbados. I am humbled to have been recognized as, Top 100 Rising Stars in Travel (2003),  Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Travel and Tourism (204), Top 20 Brilliant Minds in European Hospitality (2014), and Global Tourism Hero (2021). 

I was born, raised, and educated in France, with half of my roots grounded in the Mekong region: my parents are both Eurasians from Indochina, like my grandparents. I wanted to explore the world and make it a better place for all from a young age. For over 25 years, I have built an international career dedicated to global and local development, including nine years in the field of environmental utilities. In 2005, I relocated to Korea with my husband, and since then, I have gained experience in sustainable tourism development and marketing, as director of global programs and consultant, then impact entrepreneur.