Educated at Cornell University with a Masters of Management in Hospitality, Mr. Thraenhart was recognized as one of the travel industry’s top 100 rising stars by Travel Agent Magazine in 2003, was listed as one of HSMAI’s 25 Most Extraordinary Sales and Marketing Minds in Hospitality and Travel in 2004 and 2005, and named as one of the Top 20 Extraordinary Minds in European Travel and Hospitality in 2014.

A member of the UNWTO Global Panel of Experts, and PATA Board Member, he also served as past executive global board member of HSMAI (Hospitality Sales Marketing Association International), and was the past Chair of PATA China. A dual citizen of Germany and Canada, he now lives in Bangkok/Thailand.

In 1999, he founded strategy consultancy Chameleon Strategies, an Affiliate Member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and in 2009, he co-founded award-winning China digital marketing and social media agency Dragon Trail, based in Beijing/PR China, helping companies all over the world to reach affluent Chinese consumers. Prior he has led marketing, CRM, and digital strategy teams at the Canadian Tourism Commission based in Vancouver/Canada, and at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts based in Toronto/Canada.

In 2014, the six tourism ministries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and China (Yunnan and Guanxi Provinces) appointed Jens Thraenhart to head the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) as its Executive Director.