Dr. Jens Thraenhart

Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Jens Thraenhart founded Chameleon Strategies in 1999, building the firm into a respected consultancy and venture incubator across the travel, tourism, hospitality, and leisure lifestyle industries. Over more than two decades, Jens has worked at the intersection of tourism strategy, destination marketing, and digital transformation. He has led organizations at the highest levels, serving as CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and as Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office for four consecutive terms, and most recently as Advisor to the Saudi Tourism Authority. He founded or co-founded various successful ventures, including Dragon Trail, Digital Innovation Asia, Blogger Matchup, Destination Film Forum, Destination Mekong, Enwoke, High-Yield Tourism, Saudi Outbound, Filara Fine Textiles, Zero Proof Vino, Passion Explorer, and Destinspire. Jens is currently on the UN Tourism Affiliate Members Board, served as its 2nd Vice Chair for two consecutive terms, and was a board member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He is deeply engaged in shaping global tourism policy and practice, with particular focus on sustainable development, digital innovation, and the Passion-Tourism Economy. His academic credentials include a Doctorate in Hotel and Tourism Management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and an MBA-accredited Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University. He also holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Cesar Ritz Colleges in Switzerland. Besides contributing to various books and publications, he is the author of the Saudi Outbound Tourism book, and the Passion Tourism Economy book series. He publishes the Balanced Tourism and Tourism Campaigns websites, and was publisher/editor of the Mekong Stories book, and the China Travel Trends book.