Catherine Germier-Hamel

Millennium Destinations, Founder & CEO | Destination Mekong, CEO
Sustainable Tourism Development, Marketing and Branding Consultant
Trainer | Facilitator | Speaker

Determined to make our world a better place to live and explore for all

Catherine Germier-Hamel is a professional in sustainable tourism development, marketing, and branding, with over three decades of experience across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast/Northeast Asia. She has worked extensively to promote sustainable tourism practices globally.
Catherine’s career began in environmental utility management in developing nations, which laid the groundwork for her later focus on sustainability. She transitioned to sustainable tourism in 2005 when she moved to South Korea, where she first promoted sustainable wine tourism and worked as F&B Marketing Manager at Novotel Gangnam Hotel. From 2008 to 2014, she served as the Director of Global Programs at the ST-EP Foundation, furthering her commitment to sustainable tourism.
In 2016, Catherine founded Millennium Destinations, an impact-driven enterprise offering business consulting services in sustainable tourism development, marketing, and branding. She also co-founded Herost in 2019, an online platform advocating for sustainable, community-driven travel experiences.
From 2021 to 2024, Catherine was the CEO of Destination Mekong, a private Destination Management and Marketing Organization in Cambodia. Under her leadership, Destination Mekong has focused on developing sustainable tourism ecosystems in the Mekong region. In July 2024, she joined the World Bank as a part-time consultant for the Cambodia Sustainable Landscapes and Ecotourism Project (CSLEP).
Catherine has been a trainer for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council since 2018. In April 2024, she co-founded the Inner Development Goals (IDG) Global Tourism Network, furthering her efforts in promoting sustainable tourism practices globally.
She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Neoma Business School (1992) and a post-graduate degree in Sustainable Tourism Development from the University of Paris Nanterre (2004).
CATHERINE’S CORE COMPETENCES
Impact Entrepreneurship and Executive Management
Business Development and partnership building
Studies, market research and consultancy
Strategic and operational marketing
Destination management, marketing, and branding
Tourism product development and diversification
Sustainability strategies, solutions, and practices
Project design, coordination and management
Training, capacity-building, and mentoring
Multistakeholder Engagement
Event Planning and Networking
Public Speaking and Advocacy
CORE SECTORS​
Travel, tourism and hospitality (since 2004): Destination Mekong, Millennium Destinations, Herost,  PlayForest (travel cooperative), Millennium Hikers (association, Founder & President), UNWTO ST-EP Foundation, Novotel, Wine & Women Korea, Visa 21 (association, Founder & President)
Sustainable Urban Development: Lyonnaise des Eaux Services Associés (Suez group), Partenariat Français pour l’Eau, Secrétariat International de l’Eau, Saunier & Associés.
Countries of residence: France, Cambodia (since May 2022), South Korea (Seoul, 2005-2022), Brazil (São Paulo, 1 year)
Short missions (up to 3 months): Benin, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, China, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Japan, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Peru, Panama, Senegal, Spain, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
MEMBERSHIP / SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS
Current
Eurocham Cambodia | Member since 2024,  Chairwoman of the Tourism and Hospitality Committee since 09/2024
Social Entrepreneurship Competition in Tourism | Jury Member in 2022 and 2024
Inner Development Goals (IDG) Global Tourism Network | Co-Founder (since 2024)
Destination Cambodge, tourism branding and marketing campaign directed to French-speaking markets | Member of the campaign committee since 2024
AMFORHT – World Association for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Training | Delegate for Korea (2016-2021), Delegate for the Greater Mekong Sub-region (since 2022)
Global Sustainable Tourism Council – GSTC | ​Member since 2016, Trainer since 2018
Past
Skål International Bangkok | 2022
Skål International Member (Seoul 2020-2021, Bangkok 2022), Board Secretary (2021)
World Trails Network | Member, 2020-2022
Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Korea – ESCCK | Tourism Advisor, 2019​-2021
AMFORHT – World Association for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Training | Delegate for Korea (2016-2021)
Cercle des Entrepreneurs Francophones de Corée – CEFC | Member, President in 2018-2020
Green Drinks Seoul | Founding Member and Member of the Organizing Team, 2017-2022
K-Move Mentoring program, supporting young Koreans in becoming global professionals | Foreign Mentor, 2016 – 2017.
PlayForest, travel cooperative promoting sustainable forest tourism | Founding Board Member, 2015 – 2020.
Conseillère du Commerce Extérieur de la France (French Trade Adviser for Tourism and Sustainable Development), appointed by the French Prime Minister, 2013-2015
Wine & Women Korea wine club: co-Founder, Honorary Member, since 2006
MAIN SPEAKING & LECTURING REFERENCES
  • Moderator of the session on “Sustainable Tourism: Aligning Success with Environmental Stewardship” at the Pacific Asia Travel Association - PATA's 2024 Tropical Coastal City Tourism Event in Sanya, Hainan, China (Sept. 2024).
  • Moderator of the panel session on Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Tourism at the 9th TPO Forum under the theme of "Open Cooperation and Innovative Development for Sustainable Tourism" in Sanya, Hainan, China (Sept. 2024). 
  • Lecturer on Leveraging the Value of Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Tourism - Enhancing Community-Based Cultural Tourism at a workshop on the Vitalization of Local Communities through Community-Driven Cultural Tourism Initiatives hosted by CIFAL-UNITAR in Jeju Island, South Korea (August 2024).
  • Panelist on nation branding and marketing at the inaugural workshop on Cambodia Tourism Revival hosted by the Cambodia Tourism Board (July 2024). 
  • Panelist at the seminar on ‘Addressing the Challenge of Plastic Use in Travel: From Policy Formulation to Practical Application’ hosted by UNESCO and Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) as part of the  South-East Asia seminar series on ‘Achieving Sustainable Tourism with Intangible Cultural Heritage and Creative City Promotion in Waterway Cities of ASEAN’ in Bangkok (July 2024).
  • Trainer on Destination Branding, Marketing and Promotion for a 3-day Training Program on Sustainable Tourism Destination Management hosted by Association internationale des Maires francophones - AIMF (July 2024).  
  • Guest speaker of the Tourism and sustainability seminar hosted by the Cambodia Hotel Association - Siem Reap chapter (April 2024)
  • Chairwoman and organizer of an online International Conference on Women Empowerment and Protection in Tourism (March 2024).
  • Panelist of the webinar on 'Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: Recommendations for Action' hosted by the Institute of Tourism (Feb. 2024)
  • Panelist of Session 1 on 'Making sustainability sexy – how do you market sustainability?' at the ASEAN Tourism Conference in Vientiane, Lao PDR (Jan. 2024). 
  • Panelist on 'The need of clear target group definition to succeed' and Speaker on Cross-border routes across the Mekong region' at the GIZ ICONE Tourism Conference 2023 in Siem Reap, Cambodia (Dec. 2023).
  • Moderator of the session on Opportunities for Indigenous Tourism organized by the Adventure Travel Trade Association during ITB Asia in Singapore (Oct. 2023)
  • Moderator and speaker of the session on Asia Pacific Adventure Travel Market Trends and Insights at the 2023 Adventure Travel World Summit of the Adventure Travel Trade Association in Hokkaido, Japan (Sept. 2023) 
  • International expert in community-based sustainable tourism for job creation and livelihood development at a multi-stakeholder scoping workshop on Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Mongolia through UNESCO Cultural and Geo Heritage organized by UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for East Asia in collaboration with the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Aug. 2023)
  • Speaker on Practical examples of sustainable tourism practices in Cambodia’ at the Sustainability in Tourism Seminar hosted by GIZ Icone programme in Siem Reap, Cambodia (July 2023)
  • Speaker at a conference on zero waste, ‘Zéro Déchet, Zéro Reste’, hosted by the French Cultural Institute in Cambodia (June 2023)
  • Speaker at the keynote session on ‘Collaborative Recovery: Working with Tourism Organizations’ at Arival | Activate Bangkok (June 2023).
  • Lecturer on Sustainable Tourism and Community-Based Tourism for the French Cooperation Department in Economics and Management of the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), Phnom Penh, Cambodia (May and June 2023).
  • Member of the international expert panel of the webinar on ‘Bad Tourist Behavior‘ by Tourismwebinar.com (June 2023)
  • Speaker of the panel on ‘Women’s Empowerment – the Center Stage of Tourism Recovery’ at the 2023 Mekong Tourism Forum in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, co-organized by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and the Cambodian Ministry of Environment (April 2023)
  • Coordinator/Moderator of the panel session on ‘Greater Mekong Subregion promoting innovation and cooperation in tourism towards sustainable economic growth’ at the Global Tourism Forum Earth (March 2023)
  • Moderator of the panel session on ‘Tourism qualification and career path development for tourism professionals and low-skilled workers’ at the Hospitality Kampuchea – Hoka Skills Day 2023 – (March 2023)
  • Keynote speaker on the ‘Potential of regional partnership for innovation’ and panelist of the session on ‘Enabling Innovation through Collaboration’ at the 2023 Tourism Innovation Summit hosted in Siem Reap, Cambodia, by GIZ ICONE’ (March 2023)
  • Chair of the ‘Women Facing Forward‘ online International Symposium – Asia-Pacific (March 2023)
  • Guest of the You’re (Not) Welcome Here podcast – Episode 7: Destination Stewardship (Feb. 2023)
  • Member of the international expert panel of the webinar on Chinese Tourists 2023 by Tourismwebinar.com (Jan. 2023)
  • Panelist at the online Panel Discussion #iEmPOWER Re-activating Economic Opportunities through Tourism, hosted by WIEF Businesswomen Network (Nov. 2022)
  • Guest speaker at the Expert discussion on “How to prepare students for quality jobs?” organized by ASSET-H&C – Association of SE Asian Social Enterprises for Training in Hospitality & Catering, in Siem Reap, Cambodia (Nov. 2022)
  • Panelist at the First ACMECS (Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy) and  CLMV (Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam) Dialogue under the theme “Tourism Development Towards More Sustainability and Resilience” in Siem Reap, Cambodia (Nov. 2022)
  • Online lecture on ‘Fostering and practicing sustainable tourism in Southeast Asia’ for the SEARA – Southeast Asia Research Academy‘s online program (Oct. 2022)
  • Panelist at the Hospitality and Sustainability online event co-organized by MQL Sustainable Tourism Services in Vietnam and the European Sustainable Hospitality Club in Catalonia (Oct. 2022)
  • Speaker of the breakout session on ‘Delivering Sustainable Growth in the Tourism Sector’ at the 2022 Mekong Forum by Mekong Institute (Oct. 2022)
  • Coordinator and moderator of the panel on ‘Social Enterprises: a purposeful and powerful tool for sustainable tourism recovery, development, and promotion’ at the Mekong Tourism Forum 2022 organized by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office in Hoi An, Vietnam (Oct. 22)
  • Speaker of the session on ‘Wonders and Heritage’ at the 2022 GSTC Asia-Pacific Sustainable Tourism Conference in Gunsan, Korea, (Sept. 2022)
  • Speaker at the International Conference on Responsible Tourism and Hospitality (ICRTH) 2022 (Sept. 2022)
  • Panelist (online) at the International Conference on Responsible Tourism and Hospitality 2022: session on Destination Marketing: ‘Sustainable destination marketing creating value, impact and opportunities for all‘
  • Guest of The South East Asia Travel Show podcast, Ep 137: Revitalising Greater Mekong Tourism (June 2022)
  • Presentation of Destination Mekong at the France-Cambodia Business Forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (June 2022)
  • Expert panelist at the webinar on Women in Tourism, International Perspectives (May 2022)
  • Lecture on Sustainable Tourism Revitalizing Local Economies as CEO of Destination Mekong, at the 2021 Korea-Pacific SDG Forum in Yeosu (Dec. 2021)
  • Promoting Urban Ecotourism through Garden Experiences, online presentation on the occasion of the Ulsan International Garden Symposium, Korea (Oct. 2021)
  • Presentation of Herost at Journées des Respirations Durables in Paris, an event dedicated to tourism restart, recovery and sustainability, hosted by French association Respire, le Tourisme de demain (July 2021).
  • Presentation of Millennium Destinations and Herost, at a webinar on Positive Tourism, Semaine de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes 2021 (June 2021)
  • Speaker of the “French Tech Connect panel on Female Founders in Korea” (March 2020)
  • Interview on Sustainable Tourism for Corée Voyage podcast in French here (Nov. 2020)
  • Presentation on ‘Smart Sustainable Tourism – Innovative Solutions from France to Korea’ for the 2nd OCOVA Forum in Asia hosted by the Gangneung Science & Industry Promotion Agency – GSIPA, South Korea (Oct. 2019).
  • Presentation on ‘Insights on the Korean outbound tourism market – The growing appeal of European destinations’ for a tourism business delegation from Flanders region, Belgium, visiting South Korea (Oct. 2019).
  • Panelist of the General Session on Travel Industry in Asia Pacific Region Trends and Developments at the 18th Asia Pacific Forum for Graduate Students Research in Tourism (APF) in Daejeon, South Korea (June 2019).
  • Lecture on ‘Globalization and Localization Trends in Asian Hospitality’ for MScs and PhD students of SIHOM – Sol International Hotel Management Dept. in Daejeon, South Korea (May 2019)
  • Keynote presentation on ‘Community benefits through Tourism’ at the 2019 GSTC Asia-Pacific Sustainable Tourism Conference: Quality Through Creativity, in Chiang Mai, Thailand (Feb. 28-March 2, 2019)
  • Six-day full course on ‘Asian Hospitality Today in Shanghai, China as part of a for Master of International Hospitality Management of EmLyon Business School – Institut Paul Bocuse: curriculum design and content development focusing on smart and sustainable tourism and hospitality, operation and management of hotels, globalization and localization strategies, branding, marketing, HR development and management, etc.  (in person in 2018 and 2019; online in 2021).
  • Lecture on ‘Community-Based Tourism Spillovers’ within the framework of the 2018 KOPIST Intensive Training Program hosted by Sejong University, Korea Tourism Organization, and Hyundai Research Institute for an audience of foreign tourism professionals (Nov. 6, 2018)
  • Presentation on ‘Sustainable Smart Tourism Principles and Practices’, at the International Conference on Tourism in Vietnam ‘New Tourism: From Local to Global Initiatives’ organized by the National Economics University in Hanoi (Oct. 27, 2018)
  •  Presentation on ‘Co-creating Sustainable Smart Tourism Experiences in Cities’ at the 4th Eco-Quartier Seminar in Suwon, Korea (Oct. 4, 2018)
  • ​’Sustainable & Smart Tourism: Dealing with (Big) Numbers and Figures’ at SIHOM – Sol International Hotel Management Dept. in Daejeon, South Korea (Sept. 2017), on the occasion of the 2017 World Tourism Day.
  • Domestic and International Marketing for Ecotourism Development (in South Korea) at the 2017 Sustainable Growth Jeollabuk-do Eco-Tourism Forum (June 2017)
  • Trends in Marketing & Sales in the Hospitality Industry (or the Art of Converting Strangers into Committed Community Members) at SIHOM – Sol International Hotel Management Dept. in Daejeon, South Korea (May 2017)
  • Panelist specialized in sustainable tourism marketing at the 2017 Busan Sustainable Tourism Forum (April 2017),
  • Sustainable & Smart Tourism: Going Back to the Basics to Reinvent the Tourism Experience at the 2016 Sustainable & Smart Tourism Forum – Seoul, South Korea (Oct. 2016)
  • Presentation on ‘Sustainable Tourism & the City: Because We’re Worth It’ at the Global Sustainable Tourism Conference – Suwon, South Korea (Oct. 2016)
  • Presentation on Mountain Hiking at the 9th World Congress on Snow and Mountain Tourism – Mountain Likers hosted by the UNWTO  and the Government of Andorra (March 2016).
  • Presentations on the South Korean outbound tourism market for National tourism boards and administrations in South Korea (2016-2022).
  • Preparation of presentations and speeches for the Chairperson of UNWTO ST-EP Foundation, also UN MDGs Advocate (2010 to 2015) and UN SDGs Advocate since 2016 (2008-2018).