Guest Bio
Elodie Courzadet serves as the Senior Business Development Manager for Vivu Journeys, a Destination Management Company (DMC) that is part of the TMG group. Based in Lyon, France, Elodie manages business development efforts connecting travel agents and tour operators primarily in the French market with local operators across Asia. Her role involves fostering partnerships, negotiating agreements, and ensuring seamless operations on the ground to deliver tailored travel experiences.
Show Summary
In this episode of the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Elodie Courzadet about her unique role bridging Western tour operators and local suppliers in Southeast Asia through Vivu Journeys. Elodie explains how a DMC operates as the hands-on partner on the ground, coordinating everything from itinerary design to reservations and quality assurance to meet the needs of travel professionals and their clients.
Elodie shares her personal journey from studying languages and tourism in France to living and working in Asia for over a decade. She reflects on cultural insights, leadership lessons managing Asian teams, and the importance of humility and connection when working internationally. The conversation touches on post-pandemic recovery in tourism, challenges like fluctuating flight availability, and the growing demand for local and immersive experiences.
Listeners also hear Elodie’s perspective on French travelers’ preferences and behaviors, as well as her favorite destinations such as Halong Bay and Inle Lake. The episode closes with reflections on the deeper meaning of travel as a way to build connections, both with others and within oneself.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ A Destination Management Company (DMC) acts as the local expert and operator, working behind the scenes to customize itineraries and handle logistics for tour operators and travel agents.
- ✓ Building trust and approaching local teams with humility is essential when working cross-culturally, especially in Asian markets.
- ✓ Effective leadership involves working alongside team members, sharing knowledge, and fostering a collaborative environment rather than simply giving orders.
- ✓ Cultural nuances such as indirect communication styles and the value of living in the moment shape both personal experiences and business interactions in Asia.
- ✓ French travelers often seek immersive, off-the-beaten-path experiences and prefer connecting with locals, even if language barriers exist.
- ✓ Post-COVID tourism in Southeast Asia is recovering steadily, with particular challenges around flight availability initially impacting traveler access.
- ✓ Safety, health standards, and continuous quality checks remain a priority for DMCs to ensure positive travel experiences in dynamic destinations.
- ✓ Familiarization trips and ongoing monitoring help maintain service standards and allow adjustments to itineraries based on current conditions like weather or infrastructure changes.
- ✓ Travelers should prepare for tropical climates by considering factors like humidity, heat, and local customs, including appropriate dress for temples and spicy cuisine.
- ✓ Meaningful travel experiences are often defined by the connections made with local people and cultures rather than just the physical locations or accommodations.
What You’ll Find on Vivu Journeys
- ✓ Tailored itinerary planning and on-the-ground operations across multiple Asian destinations, led by local expertise.
- ✓ Strong emphasis on immersive, authentic local experiences that connect travelers with destination cultures.
- ✓ Comprehensive support for travel agents and tour operators including contract negotiation, trade show representation, and ongoing partnership management.
- ✓ Quality assurance through regular inspections and familiarization trips to ensure safety and satisfaction for end travelers.
- ✓ Integration with TMG group’s assets such as hotels and cruises to offer a wide-ranging portfolio of services in Vietnam and beyond.
- ✓ A commitment to adapting itineraries responsively to changing conditions and traveler needs, maintaining flexibility and reliability.
Learn more about Vivu Journeys part of TMG and connect with Elodie at:
https://tmgroup.vn/
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Podcast Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated on recording, and has not been edited by a human. It may contain lots of mistakes, crazy words, and stuff that makes no sense. The host and the guest are not responsible for the accuracy of the transcript.
Jason Elkins (00:04.484)
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Big World Made Small podcast for the adventure traveler. Happy to have each and every one of you back here today and we’ve got a wonderful guest today. Super, super interesting. We’ve got Elodie Courzadet Elodie, did I say it right? All right, cool. Well, let’s see if I can get the rest right here. Elodie, you are the Senior Business Development Manager for Vivu Journeys, which is part of the TMG group, right?
Elodie Courzadet (00:21.166)
You did it perfectly.
Elodie Courzadet (00:33.198)
That’s correct.
Jason Elkins (00:34.264)
All right, very cool. Those are kind of some of the details that I wanna get out of the way. I am familiar with other parts of your story that are super exciting. I wanna jump into those, but I wanted to make sure we got the introduction right there for anybody that might be concerned with that. So, Elodie, super excited to have you here. Where are you joining us from? Where are you today?
Elodie Courzadet (00:52.814)
I’m based in Lyon, France, so not pretty close from you but pretty close in a way.
Jason Elkins (00:58.564)
All right, very cool. What is the weather like in Leon in January? Because that’s when we’re recording this. Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (01:04.062)
It’s freezing now, super freezing. Well, freezing for me because as you know, and that’s why we’re discussing today, I used to be living in Asia for quite some time. So right now in France and in Lyon specifically, it’s only zero, which is super, super cold for me because I’m still not familiar with the French weather in winter. So zero degrees today.
Jason Elkins (01:27.185)
Yeah, alright, and you live there in Leon, correct?
Elodie Courzadet (01:30.258)
I do live there, I work from there and I travel for work obviously but yeah I’m based in Lyon.
Jason Elkins (01:36.304)
All right, very cool. I think where we’ll start is just give us kind of an idea of what you do for the TMG group. Just kind of a quick overview of what you’re doing now. And then we’ll go back and discuss kind of what you were doing before and how you got from where you were to where you are now.
Elodie Courzadet (01:51.342)
Sure, sure, sure. So I work for Vivo Journeys first hand, which is a DMC arm, so DMC for Destination Management Company. So Vivo Journeys is a DMC arm of the TMG group, which is Tien Mien Group. So that’s a Vietnamese group where the head office is based in Hanoi. So I’m actually working in a commercial role. So I’m doing all the business development.
for all the travel agents and tour operators working with us. So I’m actually based in France, but I’m overseeing all the business development for any professional of tourism dealing with DMCs in Asia, and actually not only in Asia, because we developed outside Asia, but I’m doing all the face-to-face meeting, trade shows, sales calls, trying to develop.
the commercial agreement with all those tour operators and travel agents. So I’m doing that for French market, but not only.
Jason Elkins (02:52.52)
Cool!
Jason Elkins (02:57.22)
Let’s dig in. If you don’t mind, because I’m sure there are some folks listening to the show today that maybe are not real super familiar with what a DMC is, what the commercial stuff is, and some of that stuff you mentioned. So if you could give some of our listeners just kind of a little bit of an education about what is a DMC, how do DMCs work with tour operators, other tour operators, and travel agents and that type of thing.
Elodie Courzadet (03:22.718)
Yeah so well we are doing B2B so we work only with travel agent and tour operators and we are at the very end of the chain so that means all the local operators in destinations are the one actually building the itineraries so let’s say you’re a tour operator Jason and you want to develop new tours for Vietnam.
So we can be in touch, we can discuss about your requirements, about hotels, guides.
specific itineraries, experiences, all the backgrounds of what you’re looking for and then we will be there in Vietnam on the ground making sure we actually tailor all your needs and facilitate that into the itineraries you want us to build for you and then that’s not only it, we also operate on your behalf so all the tour operators for instance selling worldwide destinations obviously they work with local operators
and we work on their behalf, we operate on their behalf, we have all the requirements for operations, reservation, you know, we make all the reservation for the guides, for the hotel, all the arrangements on the ground are made on their behalf. So that’s two things really that we do. So we’ll go back to what I did prior because I was on the ground, but now I’m actually the face-to-face with the clients. So my goal is actually to go out
make sure people know about us. Why is it good for you to work with us and not with others because we obviously have unique selling points and yeah I make sure I actually deal with all the negotiation part the contracts part with
Elodie Courzadet (05:13.002)
tour operators and travel agents but then it doesn’t just stop there I just want to make sure people understand here that it’s not about signing contract off and then disappearing it’s also making sure everything remains up to the standard making sure you always do trade shows and meetings to make sure that the requirements and the expectations are up to what that level.
and also develop new things together. If someone is selling Vietnam, but obviously want to sell Laos, we can discuss any other requirement on any other destinations and make sure people are happy, you know. We just need to make sure that people are happy on the grounds, the end user, and obviously the tour operator is also happy. So I’m making sure all this is made. And so I’m always in between the local teams and also the tour operators.
So that’s a fine line.
Jason Elkins (06:13.712)
Very cool. I think that was a wonderful description because I know I think that was wonderful and it’s come up in a few conversations that I’ve had and just really appreciate the way you kind of laid it out there. So basically you’re you know you’re representing the vendor the supplier that supplies the actual tours let’s say in Vietnam and you’re connecting them.
Elodie Courzadet (06:16.891)
I hope that helped, yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (06:38.036)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (06:40.088)
with the buyers who might be a tour operator that’s in Michigan or something that offers trips all around the world. One of the trips they offer is Vietnam, but since they don’t have boots on the ground and direct relationships with transfer drivers and tour guides and stuff like that, but you do. So you’re kind of the intermediary between the two.
Elodie Courzadet (06:44.723)
Mm. Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (07:02.382)
Yeah, and we do inspection as well with the tour operators. So for instance, all the big tour operators just don’t, well, they rely on us because we advise them, but they also come on the ground with us to make sure that the requirements are there. So they always test everything. So we always organize what we call fam trips, which is a small word for familiarization trips. So every year they want to make sure everything is up to the standard. And sometimes you need to change things, you know, because just to give you an example,
Jason Elkins (07:20.54)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (07:24.508)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (07:33.016)
is a beautiful destination but quite difficult in terms of logistics. So sometimes you have to change because there were some floodings for instance so the roads have been damaged so sometimes in the middle of high season you have to change an itinerary and make sure things are slightly changed so all those things from one year to another needs to be updated just to make sure it’s safe also and people enjoy the trip but it’s not only about selling it’s
Jason Elkins (07:57.67)
Hehe.
Elodie Courzadet (08:02.456)
sure that you can actually operate well.
Jason Elkins (08:07.236)
No, that makes perfect sense that any reputable tour operator that’s sending people off to different corners of the planet goes and checks them out both to familiarize themselves with the trip but also just kind of that quality assurance. It’s like a buyer for a…
A big retail chain in the US might travel to China or travel to some other place to actually look at the products, look at the factory, the warehouse, and make sure that their clients are going to be happy with the end product. Of course, what we’re discussing is a lot more fun than I think anyway, a lot more fun than retail merchandise, that type of stuff. We’re actually dealing with experiences here, which I think are, yeah, absolutely. All right. So now that we have an overview of kind of what you do.
Elodie Courzadet (08:38.587)
Exactly.
Elodie Courzadet (08:47.046)
Hahaha
Elodie Courzadet (08:50.684)
It’s quite fun.
Jason Elkins (08:57.666)
The whole DMC thing works the business to business here in the tourism space works Let’s dig into how you got from where you were where we can go back as far as you want to go How did you get from where you were to where you are now? What was that journey like?
Elodie Courzadet (09:15.999)
I was all
it was all so sudden you know. I sometimes I was thinking about this and before we did the recording today I was like okay so sometimes I think like I just didn’t think about things and just moved from one place to another and just was thinking so let’s just do it you know. Well I think I’d like to go back to university because I was studying foreign
Elodie Courzadet (09:47.824)
I went abroad for six months to do an exchange and then I came to see my tutor and told him well I’d like to go somewhere but for one year where can I go?
And he said like, well, you have two options. Number one is Australia and number two is Canada. So I said, what do I do? He said, well, Australia has only one availability and I think you won’t get it because it’s hard. I said, so what should I do for Canada then? He said, well, just apply, do this and do that.
and then I went to Canada for one year. I just didn’t really decide about it, but I spent one year in Canada, and this is where my connection with Asia started because my roommate was Japanese.
So actually back in the days because I’ve been living in Southeast Asia for quite some times, but actually my first real connection with Asia was with Japan. So I was living with her, I didn’t know what it was like to be with a Japanese roommate, well to be with a roommate anyway and then in a foreign country. So I really enjoyed and we became friends, really good friends and then after uni she was like okay why don’t you come see me in Japan.
Jason Elkins (10:54.32)
Hehehe
Elodie Courzadet (11:07.728)
I said okay and I didn’t really think about Japan as well. I was not against anything but I was not really up like what’s your dream destination? I was like well just go anywhere really.
So after my bachelor degree she invited me to spend one month in Japan and I knew it cost a fortune so we’ve just been to a parents and then an aunt and then you know all these beautiful places in Japan and that was such a disconnection right?
So I really enjoyed it and then I came back I was like oh I really love Asia and I think for a female single at that time I think that’s probably quite safe and that’s nice. So well anyway I kept something on the side. I was like oh Asia is cool. Then I started a master degree and then for the master degree I was like okay what should I do because I don’t really want to work.
So I did a bachelor in foreign languages, but I actually love traveling. Okay, then I’ll do a master degree in tourism industry. You know, all these things just suddenly make sense, but didn’t think through that much. So then I did my master. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (12:15.047)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (12:19.792)
What, I’m curious real quick, Elodie, what languages were you kind of specializing in? You went for a Bachelor’s degree in language. Did you study any Asian languages?
Elodie Courzadet (12:31.074)
I did not at all. I did German and English because well to be pretty honest at school when I was young just to categorize quickly and this is not what I think but sometimes also you have your parents and also the school telling you oh yeah you’re a good student you should do German.
Jason Elkins (12:34.268)
Okay, I’m just curious.
Elodie Courzadet (12:57.046)
I don’t know why because nowadays I’ve been to Central America and I love Spanish and I think that’s so cool and I actually don’t even use a lot of German these days. But at that time I studied German, I was pretty good at it, I did English as well. So that’s it. But then thinking back, yeah I could have studied something else but I also come from a small town like in France, a middle town so probably not a lot of options if you want
Jason Elkins (12:58.696)
Hehehe
Elodie Courzadet (13:27.2)
language or probably Asian language right so I just
Jason Elkins (13:31.472)
Well, I can understand how if you grow up in France, maybe German and English might be the two languages that you would be definitely encouraged to study. That makes sense.
Elodie Courzadet (13:45.327)
Spanish is quite popular as well.
Jason Elkins (13:47.717)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (13:48.298)
But yeah it was like quite crowded classrooms so my parents were like yeah your brother did German why don’t you do the same? I was like okay well you know and I was like okay just not always following up on things but I think yeah it makes quite sense and I also I maybe some people would think that’s silly but I quite enjoy German language and I think that’s quite a smart language to learn
Jason Elkins (14:13.754)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (14:17.552)
where you actually learn the language itself. So I was enjoying it anyway. So I did it. And then I never thought I would be living 10 years of my life in Asia. So I thought probably I would stay in.
Jason Elkins (14:30.384)
Ha ha
Elodie Courzadet (14:33.822)
Well, I would be in Paris because, you know, when you finish your studies and you want to go to a big city, it’s probably that’s the thing to do. But I’ve done none of these things, you know. So I’ve done a master degree and then I was like, okay, master degree in tourism, where can I do that? And I was actually looking for places pretty far away from home.
Jason Elkins (14:44.54)
Hmm
Elodie Courzadet (14:54.834)
So I used to be in Canada and when I came back to France I was like okay I need something pretty nice like nicely ranked but also pretty far away from home so this is where I actually ended up in south of France border with Spain. So I did the master degree there. And
Jason Elkins (15:09.734)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (15:14.266)
I had a boyfriend at that time and he said, well you know we need to do a training abroad for six months and I know that for instance in Thailand they can accept a couple in a hotel to do the internship together so we could probably have availability for both and travel there together. I was like, okay.
Jason Elkins (15:32.338)
Hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (15:40.07)
Let’s do that. So we applied and we got the training in Thailand and then boom we go.
Jason Elkins (15:48.764)
Very cool.
Elodie Courzadet (15:50.326)
So that’s it, we spent 6 months in the middle of Thailand, internship in a nice independent hotel, not hotel chain.
So we learned a lot from there, from front desk to myself, I was actually accompanying clients on excursions, you know, scuba diving or anything, you know. So we’ve done many things, pretty remote area, completely transported into a new way of life barefoot. It was incredible.
Jason Elkins (16:26.236)
Yeah, I’m curious what part of just for our listeners that are familiar with Thailand. What part of Thailand was that? You said middle Thailand.
Elodie Courzadet (16:33.26)
Five hours south of Bangkok in a Pratchapkedi Khan area. It’s actually the very thin part of Thailand pretty close to the Burmese border. So it was pretty cool. It was completely remote.
Jason Elkins (16:45.736)
Okay, yeah, very, very cool.
Elodie Courzadet (16:52.818)
And again, you know, I just didn’t think about it. I knew I love Asia, but that was a, Japan was a different Asia. And I just wanted to go somewhere nice and obviously not from this internship and then probably have a better idea of what I would do later. And I had an amazing time, but then, yeah, I was not going so well with my partner at that time. And then we just finished the study, came back to France, and it was like, so what are you going to do after?
said well why don’t we go back abroad and he’s like oh no I want to stay to I want to stay here I say okay maybe we just end this up so yeah that’s what happened and then I was looking for a job naive as I was I fought after a master degree without any experience I would find a nice job in Paris pretty nicely paid not at all
Jason Elkins (17:31.664)
Hahaha!
Elodie Courzadet (17:51.206)
I didn’t get any interviews, nothing at all. I work in a campsite in Versailles. Many people were asking me, really? There’s a campsite in Versailles?
Yes there is, just so you know. So I worked there for more than five months because obviously in Versailles next to Paris you have lots of international travelers so my English was not so bad, my German as well so obviously it was pretty good for them to get someone with quite good skills in languages and then they were like are you interested in getting a long term contract? I was like no way.
Jason Elkins (18:04.573)
Hmm.
Jason Elkins (18:28.799)
Hehehehe
Elodie Courzadet (18:29.914)
No way, no way, no I can’t do that. I even got a McDonald’s recruitment company asking me for a job and I said, I turned this down as well. I was like, so what I’m gonna do, you know? I don’t know what I’m gonna do, I’m just lost. I have a master degree, I have no experience, nobody wants to hire me. And then I said, well I think I should just leave. So then I applied for jobs in Asia.
I got a job in India, in New Delhi, and I got one in Thailand. To be honest with you, both salaries were pretty bad. And I thought maybe the one in Thailand was slightly better and also maybe better for a woman alone in Thailand. So I got the job and one month later I was there.
Jason Elkins (19:08.988)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (19:27.144)
Very cool, very cool. I suspect there’s other people maybe that would be listening to this as well. You know, when you talk about, okay, I’ve got a master’s degree and can’t get a job, you know, what should I do? So there may be other people that can relate to that. So tell us, what was the job in Thailand? What were you doing there?
Elodie Courzadet (19:48.302)
So first job, I was just doing quotation.
quotation on any itinerary so B2B as well, you know working with tour operators and travel agents in France I was doing ports for individuals or group booking but mainly individuals And I was not enjoying it at all. I got I wanted to get there and I thought it would be good but Welcome was average
and then I found another job when I was based there because it was obviously easier.
Jason Elkins (20:27.051)
What was it about that job that you disliked?
Elodie Courzadet (20:32.614)
I think to be honest she didn’t have much trust in me. I think that’s one thing as well which obviously is pretty big when you travel and also live abroad.
I think yes you need to gain trust anywhere you go and I get that but you need time for that right? And the thing is that I lost my grandfather when I just arrived in Thailand so I actually had to fly back home pretty quickly to go there and I think after that it got worse because she was thinking oh okay you were away for a week you just got there now you need to prove yourself even more.
and she gave me lots of work and I was trying to gain trust but I don’t really think she… it wouldn’t go anywhere. I think it was just and yeah I think trust is very key in anything you do and connection and honesty that’s the way I work but I didn’t see this going anywhere further based on no trust I think that’s pretty hard so this is where I…
Jason Elkins (21:17.751)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (21:42.652)
Yeah. So what do you, so you mentioned a couple of things there and I’m curious what the takeaway is for people that are listening to this. Cause I heard you say trust like 10 times. Um, so obviously that’s, that’s super important. So somebody let’s imagine somebody in a similar situation, they’re picking up to travel halfway around the world or around the world to live and work in a different culture and a new job for somebody that they just met.
Based on your experience, what kind of advice, maybe one, two, three things would you advise to somebody that’s doing something like that to help them have a better experience than you had?
Elodie Courzadet (22:20.278)
Yeah, because it’s also beneficial for the other jobs that I got after for other DMCs. I think you need to prove yourself in a good way, so I think it takes time. And I think it’s all related to Asia, so all my experience being with Asia, I don’t want to just copy paste it to the whole world, but based on my experience with Asia.
Jason Elkins (22:29.508)
I’m sure.
Elodie Courzadet (22:49.51)
I think you need to put yourself in the shoes of the locals and probably just a cliche of the white men or women just arriving and pretending you know better. You don’t. So that’s something very important to highlight. Just arrive in a very humble way.
Jason Elkins (23:05.642)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (23:19.207)
it’s actually well.
Utilized in the company you work for but never overestimate That you know better than the ones who work with so that’s something pretty key I would say and probably one of the biggest takeaway and Anything that I’ve done after that which was actually being a leader of a team is also giving the example Just don’t tell people what to do. Just Do it with them show them
them, you know, and just don’t be separate from them because it’s all about the connection. And I think when you try to be with people, understand them and be very humble, especially at the beginning, I think it’s always positive and will always work out for you.
Jason Elkins (23:58.417)
Right.
Jason Elkins (24:11.032)
I think that is wonderful advice. And I’ve worked with people in different cultures and different countries, not a whole lot in Asia, but I can appreciate everything you just said that just kind of showing up like, okay, I’ve got a master’s degree in tourism and I’m here to, you know, and I’m not suggesting you did that, but I can see how the local operators, your local employers might.
have some, you know, some thoughts in their head that that’s what’s happening. So just, I’d love the. Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (24:43.438)
Probably yes, but you know at that time Jason, I just wanted to get interviews I didn’t even get to that stage You know at least you can actually call me and say you don’t know anything But come see me and maybe we try something out. You know I would be like okay. Yeah sure But then you need to go to that stage first and then well Asia gave me that possibility You know
Jason Elkins (24:49.415)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (24:59.61)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (25:08.984)
Yeah, yeah, no, that’s, that’s very cool. And when you said later on, when you were leading teams and you learned that you needed to really kind of work with them, not just tell them, hey, here’s what you need to do, but work with them and try and understand where they’re coming from. Were you leading teams of Asian employees? Was that the, is that kind of what you’re referencing?
Elodie Courzadet (25:29.462)
Yeah.
Yeah, I’m referencing to that because after that I gained more experience and I got offered like position with management. So I think the first team I managed was six of them and then later on I managed up to 12 people. So first one was Thai and then I moved to Myanmar so 12 Burmese ladies, only ladies. And then even later when I came back to Bangkok
Jason Elkins (25:35.108)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (25:59.307)
Hmm?
Elodie Courzadet (26:02.828)
it was multicultural members so some of them in Bangkok and some of them elsewhere which was something else but you need to show the example you know like obviously when I started in Thailand I did quotes so my first question I remember someone of the team of six the first team I managed asked me okay yeah you asked me to do quotes but do you know how to do quotes?
Jason Elkins (26:32.011)
Hahaha
Elodie Courzadet (26:34.686)
Yeah, good question because it’s very nice.
it’s good for me to know how to utilize the system, know the difference between this and that and obviously if I need to check your file and make sure you’ve done no mistake in the margins for instance it’s good for me to know that you put a half-day guide and a full-day guide and anything you know so yeah but some of them would be like yeah but do you know how to do a quote because yeah it’s nice to just give orders but at least and I was like yeah you’re right
Jason Elkins (26:58.467)
Uh-huh.
Elodie Courzadet (27:08.168)
Let’s make one together. Let’s… Well, today you have four. And obviously you have some things from yesterday. So why don’t I help you with this one? And then we see the result and we can discuss about it.
Jason Elkins (27:22.352)
Got it. Now that, I can…
Elodie Courzadet (27:23.802)
All these things, you know, and sitting with them, spending time together and it’s spending time together at work, but also sometimes when it’s birthdays, when it’s Friday, why don’t we leave earlier, maybe grab a drink next door, just say have a nice weekend and just be together, you know, it really helps unify the team and make sure you can collaborate even better. So all those things are important.
Jason Elkins (27:51.489)
Awesome.
I love that you shared that from a kind of a management and working with the team leadership type of aspects as they kind of as they apply to working with an Asian team. And I wanna continue on that a little bit just to maybe like two or three surprises about Asian culture. So this doesn’t necessarily have to do with your experience working there.
But just like, if somebody hasn’t been to Asia, maybe they’re getting ready to take a job. And I, and let’s maybe just stick with Thai culture. If that’s more appropriate. I don’t know. You, you tell me, but like what are two or three things that surprise people when they show up in Asia to start working or living that, um, that you think our listeners might be interested in hearing.
Elodie Courzadet (28:43.194)
The most surprising thing first of all is about the yes and no scenario. It’s not a big no culture. It means like, so it applies to work but also outside works. So sometimes you know I like when people tell me no, it’s easier you know. If you disagree, if you don’t want to do something or if it’s just a no, you can tell me.
But it doesn’t work that way. So sometimes when I discuss several occasions with my western friends in Thailand for instance, we always call it the yes but no.
Jason Elkins (29:29.73)
Hahaha
Okay, so they’re inclined to say yes even when they really want to say no, maybe they even mean no, it’s that they just don’t like to say no. It sounds like yes.
Elodie Courzadet (29:33.053)
Right.
Elodie Courzadet (29:41.31)
Yeah, but they don’t really say it. Well you have some characters and obviously sometimes you can get pretty close to someone and at the end but that’s not so typical I would say. So that’s different culture, right? Then something which I really love.
Jason Elkins (29:45.532)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (29:55.889)
Hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (30:07.17)
which is typical to Asia and I wish I had bring that back to France but I don’t think I can because it’s not up to me but to the country itself. It’s really the culture about living your life today. It’s really enjoying every moment like today is your last day.
Jason Elkins (30:23.972)
Hmm.
Jason Elkins (30:32.913)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (30:33.07)
And I wish I would bring something like that which is heavy and really nice to be honest because I think in western countries sometimes we struggle with death and life really. But you know like for instance every Friday, every last Friday of the month being payday
Jason Elkins (30:49.247)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (30:59.722)
you would always see them enjoying it, going out for dinner, for drinks, and it doesn’t matter how much you spend, you don’t count it because it’s today, you know? It doesn’t matter too well, obviously some of them would save money but you know, I would see on many occasions people in the streets just enjoying life as it’s your last day, today.
Jason Elkins (31:09.768)
Hehehehe
Elodie Courzadet (31:24.882)
And it helped me to be honest in many occasions just to be happy today and we’ll see about tomorrow. We’ll figure it out. We’ll find a way.
Jason Elkins (31:33.807)
Hmm.
It’s very cool, very in the moment type of thing.
Elodie Courzadet (31:39.402)
Very in the moment, yeah, and that’s something I really enjoyed. Probably more Buddhist for sure. So I would say probably two of the big things I can think of right now.
Jason Elkins (31:48.252)
Hehe.
Jason Elkins (31:57.4)
Now can the living in the moment and not necessarily spending a lot of time worrying about tomorrow, I would imagine can also make it difficult for a tourism company with a lot of details and a lot of planning and a lot of forward looking planning. Is that the case or does it just seem to work out just fine? I mean, is that a challenge?
Elodie Courzadet (32:27.066)
No, I wouldn’t think so. To my experience, yeah, it works quite well. Obviously, you have people in senior position and in team leader position who have this understanding of the business and make sure that things rotate quite well but…
Yeah, no, I didn’t encounter anything that would be an issue on that. It’s more of a general way of living, but the way of working, obviously you have differences within Asia, Thai people being different from Burmese, from Vietnamese, from Indonesians, but no, I must say that all the teams I’ve worked with were super smart, fast-paced workers.
Jason Elkins (33:05.275)
Sure.
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (33:18.357)
loving that job, really passionate about it. So…
Jason Elkins (33:22.992)
Very cool. So obviously, you know, even working as a DMC, you’re, you know, the DMC, like you said earlier, kind of the boots on the ground, the ones that are actually dealing with the clients when they show up. Um, is it, I don’t want to make any assumptions. I’m just going to ask where did most of your clients come from? And I know you’ve worked a few different roles and jobs and companies, but in general, what are these Western clients?
Elodie Courzadet (33:34.793)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (33:51.722)
Yes. Yeah, mostly, mostly yes.
Jason Elkins (33:52.696)
Okay, so what I’m sure that you probably could come up with a list of five to 10 or 20 or 100 different things that it’s just like, wow, these Western clients just no matter what we tell them, they’re always surprised by this or they always show up.
missing something or like what is just the like if you could speak directly to the average client coming from the west to Asia and give them a reality check as far as what to expect or what not to do what would what comes to mind you kind of giggled there so I’m assuming you’ve got something.
Elodie Courzadet (34:31.69)
No, no, I just had a silly example which is probably not 100% related to what you wanted to hear but I was just thinking of my well because I’m French and I work many, many years for the French market, not only now so I have many more experiences on other markets but I would always remember them saying, oh they’re so nice but that’s a shame they don’t speak French.
Elodie Courzadet (34:57.098)
You know? Like, yeah, but you know.
Jason Elkins (34:57.544)
Hmm
Jason Elkins (35:05.008)
No, that makes, that reminds me, that’s kind of like stories like, oh, the destination was wonderful, but it was really hard to get a cheeseburger or a pizza. You know, like.
Elodie Courzadet (35:15.922)
I get that all the time, yeah. And about rice, you know, about rice. We love rice, but at some point, we would love much more diversification, you know. It’s always about rice. Well, yeah, sure. And if you come to France, you always have a baguette as well, so you know.
But yeah, no, just a reminder of the heat obviously. People tend to forget about humidity and the heat and mosquitoes, so trying to make them understand and remember that you come to tropical countries, so inside there’s a lot of air cones, so make sure you have something to carry your shoulder. And not only about inside but also when you visit temples, you know. It’s common sense obviously.
Jason Elkins (35:33.803)
Interesting.
Jason Elkins (36:00.136)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (36:02.66)
remind people that they need to have their shoulders and knees covered so that’s always something we remind them. Also reminding them about the spices, you know that’s different food so make sure you bring some things in case you are sick. Ice cubes, you know all these things that you’re probably not always familiar with and you can get sick quite easily.
Jason Elkins (36:08.305)
Hehe.
Jason Elkins (36:29.804)
Interesting. You know, as you were, as you were mentioning a few of those things, one being air conditioning. Um, I think you could probably bring a lot of value to this conversation or maybe not, maybe I’m wrong, but I want to go here anyway. What should travelers know about French culture to help them understand other French travelers? Because most people that have traveled around the world at all have run into
Elodie Courzadet (36:34.88)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (36:59.144)
travelers from France and I think sometimes other cultures have a hard time understanding French travelers. Are you comfortable?
Elodie Courzadet (37:08.63)
You think so? Well yeah I’m comfortable with anything. That’s you too?
Jason Elkins (37:13.456)
All right, so I’m curious if you if you sense that, have you picked up on that? And maybe it’s just me. Maybe people listen to this or Jason, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Or some people might. And I think French people are super interesting when I run into them. But there seems to be maybe I’m just curious. Are there a few things that people should know about French travelers to help them understand? Or or tour operators?
Elodie Courzadet (37:38.769)
Um, as a friend, as a
Jason Elkins (37:40.984)
What should tour operators know about French culture? Maybe that’s a better way to put it.
Elodie Courzadet (37:47.151)
Well, French travelers first hand, they don’t really speak well foreign languages. So I think sometimes that’s one of the things when you meet French travelers abroad.
and there’s no interaction, it’s probably also something that probably they stay together and they don’t interact much because also they don’t really speak super well the language. So they kind of protect themselves I would say.
Jason Elkins (38:13.681)
Hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (38:19.178)
I’m not like that because I lived abroad many years and I can speak and I can socialize because I speak okay but all my family members for instance they want to travel but when they travel they travel with groups and when they travel with groups they stay with the group because that’s safer because they don’t know how to interact with the locals so that’s one way to put things forward.
Elodie Courzadet (38:49.252)
French travelers, one thing that I always love is that you always need to exceed expectations and always look for new places because when working with other markets some of them might be comfortable going to very mass places where the French people always want to go where there’s no one.
So that’s always nice as a professional of tourism and depending on which segment you work on, let’s put it that way. If you work in Vietnam with adventure tour operator in France, obviously they want to go remote but they want to go super remote, very local guest houses, local experiences. It’s not about, well sometimes wow someone is not about the price, it’s also about where
have no one else so that’s one of the things they always ask us and we always need to go forward with that it can be with adventure but also with three star average classical round trips or it could be immersive five star tour operator doing luxury anything you do you always have in mind that they want something else
Jason Elkins (39:46.129)
Hmm
Jason Elkins (40:13.64)
Hmm. Do you think that those two things are related? Cause I heard you say before, when we’re speaking about language, I heard you say kind of a little bit of isolation, stick to themselves, maybe don’t mingle as much with, with the people around them. And then the second point you brought up was they like to be where there’s nobody else or there’s, you know, more remote, more, you know, smaller operations.
Elodie Courzadet (40:40.386)
They want to mingle but they want to mingle with the locals, you know. So they want to mingle.
I don’t say they don’t want to mingle with other tourists. They might be okay with that. But honestly, when they travel abroad, I think the priority would always be on local immersion with the locals. And that’s something that can be facilitated with the tour guides because if they don’t speak well, and that’s something that we do, you know, with the TMG group and the DMC I work for is that we’re specialized into immersive experiences.
Jason Elkins (41:03.048)
Okay.
Elodie Courzadet (41:19.352)
and we make sure we can actually bring any type, any segments into a very local immersive experience. So it doesn’t bother if you don’t speak the language as long as you have this connection.
So and well you stay away from the crowds but you go back home and actually it’s not only about the product itself, the product let’s say as hotel. Hotel is part of the trip but it’s not always essential to that. It depends on markets, it depends on tour operators, it depends on you know what you’ll be looking for. But for French market as a whole I would say there was something that would define
them would probably be that.
Jason Elkins (42:07.376)
Hmm. That’s really interesting. I appreciate you sharing all that because pretty much everything you mentioned aligns with experiences I’ve had and I love France. I’ve spent time in France. It’s been a long time ago and I’ve met some fabulous French people in my, in my travels and I’ve recognized some of what you’ve described, you know, I’ve worked in tourism and, and.
for an hospitality for most of my life. And your insights that you just gave kind of explain why maybe there’s the French couple at the lodge, they’re the only French folks at the lodge and they maybe seem a little bit more kind of isolated where everybody else is sitting up at the main lodge drinking and sharing stories. And maybe the French couple is spending a little bit more time off in their room or they stay out on the tour a little longer.
than everybody else. And so that’s very, very helpful. So thank you. That makes a lot of sense.
Elodie Courzadet (43:07.446)
That’s my experience and I probably…
many definitions depending well local connections and cultures are super difficult to analyze you know even now being back to France after several years in Asia I’m always amazed by also the regional differences and I know in the US it’s the same you know it’s even bigger or anywhere anyway you know when I when I’m in Paris meeting clients and then I go to Marseille it’s a complete different story.
Jason Elkins (43:21.69)
Yeah!
Jason Elkins (43:30.203)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (43:41.698)
You know?
Jason Elkins (43:42.332)
Oh yeah, there’s so much variety and variation. And I was just, I was just curious because I recognize what I’m discussing is a little bit of a stereo, stereotypical thing, but I’ve got an opportunity to speak with a French person that works in the travel business catering to French people. So I’m going to ask those questions. So thank you for thank you for indulging me with that.
Elodie Courzadet (43:59.406)
Yeah, yup.
Elodie Courzadet (44:06.924)
I hope.
Jason Elkins (44:10.048)
So how long have you been, you’ve been back in France, how long?
Elodie Courzadet (44:14.873)
I came back just before COVID.
Jason Elkins (44:17.708)
Okay, do you think that was good timing for you or do you wish the timing had been a little different?
Elodie Courzadet (44:24.306)
No it was good timing. I must say I have no regrets in life. I did my time. My last experience in Asia was amazing so I was already working with the TMG group and then I told them I wanted to take some time off. So actually in 2019 I spent 9 months just travelling around
Jason Elkins (44:49.355)
Mm-hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (44:54.28)
project which I started with them back in January 2020. So I went to my favorite places and new places in Asia in 2019. I spent summer in Europe and then I traveled to Central America, something I discovered I didn’t do before so I really loved it. Spent Christmas with my family and started this new job right before the pandemic and it all went well and I’m still working there.
Jason Elkins (45:24.537)
Thank you.
Elodie Courzadet (45:24.58)
And I’m actually enjoying being closer to home now because I wanted to change few things in my life and just experience other things outside Asia But the beauty is that I’m actually close to home, but I’m actually every day in Asia With my with the company I work for so that’s why it’s pretty fantastic for me I think it would have been difficult Being back to France and actually working for a French company with a hundred
Jason Elkins (45:42.247)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (45:54.36)
French culture which is something I never experienced so it works perfectly for me.
Jason Elkins (45:55.909)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (46:01.964)
It does sound like as someone that I feel like you and I probably resonate in a lot of different ways. It seems like a pretty perfect fit that you still get to stay connected with the wonderful exciting life that you had in Asia and you get to be in France and doing what you want to do there. I’m just because you started up with them again right before COVID so let’s go there. What was the biggest…
struggle, biggest aha, biggest change that you saw through COVID and what came out of it. What is your kind of take on what happened there? Not everything, but just as far as tourism in Southeast Asia, I guess. I don’t know. What are your takeaways?
Elodie Courzadet (46:41.398)
human personality or
Elodie Courzadet (46:50.098)
Obviously, big struggle with COVID. Well, luckily, I work for a group that owns hotels and cruises and different assets, including the DMC port. Luckily for us as well, we had Europe operations throughout the pandemic. So while we could not operate in Asia.
we could do operations in Europe, but we are a Vietnamese group. And I must say, after the pandemic, and that’s something that I do always appreciate with Asia is actually how strong they are, you know, they can do anything, you know, they have this frame of mind that, okay, let’s just restart things, let’s do things all over, let’s just make sure we are even better. So within the group and Asia as a whole, I mean,
East Asia. I think the post pandemic has been quite successful to be honest you know. We are hiring…
Jason Elkins (47:53.881)
Is it busier now than it was before?
Elodie Courzadet (47:57.89)
Be easier, no, because for instance, in Vietnam, you have like the Chinese market, for instance, and the Russian market not there. But in terms of Western markets, it’s actually growing again. I think the first year after COVID, we also had the struggles about the flights. So that’s not something the DNC is handling, but obviously you would not have all the rotations for the flights. So many people would be willing to go to Asia, but actually would have no seats available
sometimes so that was a struggle you know because people willing to go but you have only like let’s say three rotations a week with Vietnam Airlines and Before you used to have once a day, so you need to make sure all those rotations go back And then you can actually grow the business, but from the DMC part that was a struggle on year one But then I would say probably the struggle is gone really
Jason Elkins (48:54.26)
Okay. Yeah. I was going to ask that because it’s January 2024. We’re when we’re recording this. Is there anything, any residual issues or impacts from COVID that would impact a Western traveler traveling to Southeast Asia right now? Or is it like back in business like normal? Is there any reason to postpone and wait or should they get going now?
Elodie Courzadet (48:59.488)
Yep.
Elodie Courzadet (49:17.438)
No, no reason to postpone. I think one of the things we did obviously on the ground post-COVID is to make sure that you know all the business run, you know some people actually did something else you know the tour guides got other jobs, some hotels just closed the door so will this reopen, you know making sure that it’s up to the standards as well so we are all about the local experiences
push people to have local experience in local areas and so on but we also need to make sure as I said earlier that they are safe and they are enjoying it so it has to have a little like the standards in terms of safety so we are very big on health and safety requirements so we do all the checks, hotel checks, vehicles, all the logistics need to make sure it’s safer because you operate on the behalf of the tour operators.
insurance is a big thing. So while at the very early stage we would be making sure everything runs smooth and we are at that level now that we can fully say yeah for sure you can travel. It’s well Vietnam is one of the big radar like Japan is very big destination this year but Vietnam also quite big. Southeast Asia is safe, Southeast Asia has lots of infrastructures, it’s always been quite big and I think
Jason Elkins (50:19.419)
Right.
Elodie Courzadet (50:47.212)
it’s going to be even bigger this year and the next one so there’s nothing to worry about and no need to postpone any trip to Asia for sure.
Jason Elkins (50:58.68)
Very cool. Why don’t you give our listeners one or two like just exciting experiences that you’re excited about. And I’m not gonna ask like it’s hard to say, well, what’s your favorite trip favorite place because I know there’s so many variables. I know, I know. And I want to get somebody that’s listening to this to get excited about a particular something.
Elodie Courzadet (51:09.019)
I can’t! I can’t say that!
Elodie Courzadet (51:16.978)
No no but I can say that but just so you know before I always separate countries where I lived in than countries that I traveled to because obviously yeah I love Thailand, I love Myanmar. Okay so let’s choose some of those. Vietnam.
Jason Elkins (51:30.629)
Okay.
Elodie Courzadet (51:43.386)
I think Halong Bay is something that people need to experience. And with the TMG group, we are the only seaplane operator. So I think one of the magical experiences to do in Vietnam is actually Halong Bay but not from a boat. Well, you can do it. It’s still super cool. But actually from the sky is something that needs to be done.
Jason Elkins (51:55.791)
Hmm.
Elodie Courzadet (52:11.769)
Another thing which I really love is Inle Lake in Myanmar.
It’s just going by boat through the floating villages and just mingling with the locals, stopping by for a tea, seeing the fishermen around and it’s just a wow atmosphere where I could choose so many places in Myanmar. It’s an incredible destination and just as an FYI I hope any trip would restart soon and based on the current situation. But in Le Lake is definitely something wow.
to go to.
Jason Elkins (52:51.44)
You said you said based on the current situation. So let’s what is the current situation for those that don’t know.
Elodie Courzadet (52:56.736)
Well…
I was living there in 2015 and it was pretty big at that time. I mean it was pretty open country but that’s military junta and many things happened so there were several conflicts and internationally it’s not been recommended for several years to actually travel there. It’s not that safe now.
That’s why many tour operators and travel agents still have it on their brochure because it’s an amazing destination and for Asian lovers that’s a must do. I was lucky enough to live there and travel there.
But for now many people refrain from traveling there for obvious reasons. You know you have like a genocide with the Bangladesh border. You have many things involved with the military. And yeah internationally it’s not recommended to travel there. So I just hope because I love Burmese people as well and I had amazing times there. I just hope that things will get better.
as worldwide because we live in a silly world these days but I just hope things will go better and we can travel there again in a safe way because safety is a priority not only as a professional but also personally safety is really big when you travel. So in L.A.
Jason Elkins (54:17.702)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (54:33.517)
Yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you for sharing that.
Elodie Courzadet (54:37.362)
And then the last thing probably would be, I just came back from Japan, I did meditation, so I started doing zazen meditation, so I did that in central part of Japan, Honshu, which is the main island that was on the very west coast next to Fukui.
And I was in the mountains doing meditation and I started at 4am with about 50 monks. And that’s something that I will never forget.
Jason Elkins (55:14.541)
That’s very cool. How long was that trip?
Elodie Courzadet (55:18.034)
Just the meditation was two days but my trip was 11 days.
Jason Elkins (55:23.557)
Okay.
Elodie Courzadet (55:23.914)
and that’s something really cool I wanted to do for quite some time and I actually just started meditation in Lyon. Right next to my apartment there’s a dojo and I just started Zazen meditation. So it’s funny because sometimes you do things in life and then it just goes naturally you know this circle of life. So anything that I did really in my life was like that. So I just did this meditation.
Jason Elkins (55:46.886)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (55:53.808)
come back and I see there’s a dojo next door and I can actually do the exact same type of meditation every day if I want just three minutes away from home. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (56:04.156)
That’s very cool, very, very cool. And that’s one cool thing about travel is, you know, it opens us up to all these things that sometimes are right next door, you know, but we have to go all the way around the world in order to experience it. And I can’t, yeah, it’s, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found something, I’m like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. I’ve never seen this before. And then I go on to the next country or I go back to the States and, oh my gosh, it’s right here in the States. I’ve just never saw it.
Elodie Courzadet (56:13.058)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (56:16.482)
Sometimes, yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (56:32.607)
Right? Yeah.
Jason Elkins (56:32.772)
You know, an example would be like Papoosas, you know, in Ecuador, Papoosas, just this cool little like corn pancake thing. And when I was traveling in Central America, I was like, oh my gosh, this is so cool. And now I’ve, you know, back in Arizona, visiting my son for Christmas driving down the road and there’s a sign saying Papoosas, you know, and you can stop it. So travels, travels pretty fun. It really kind of connects you with, for me anyway, it connects me with the world. So
Elodie Courzadet (56:41.311)
Okay.
Elodie Courzadet (56:52.738)
I’m like, oh my god. Ha ha.
Jason Elkins (57:03.156)
Um, sounds like you’ve had an opportunity to see and do some wonderful things. And what’s great is you’re helping people do that every day, um, by connecting the DMC is with, with these different tour operators and travel agents. Um, we.
Elodie Courzadet (57:17.459)
One of the things I just wanted to add, because you asked post-COVID, and I think the need for connection was big before, but I think the need for connection is even more needed now after COVID.
Jason Elkins (57:33.585)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (57:33.766)
I see that personally but I see that as well professionally you know. People need to connect with each other, spend some real time together and they always get these things back to their home you know. I know that for instance when we build super nice itineraries it’s not always about the price it’s not about the hotel but sometimes it’s about the…
the experiences we create with the locals they meet. We have a product range which is called local legends and the local legends are the superstars we actually meet in destinations, we discuss with them, our product teams discuss with them and they tell a story you know. They have a very special story to tell and you can spend a half day, a full day with them and you go.
really deep down into their story and you exchange about it and I must tell you that the travelers when they go back home that’s all they speak about.
Jason Elkins (58:44.104)
Yeah. I think, and I know for me, and I’m starting to believe for most people, the VAT, if not almost everybody, travel is about connection. I don’t, you know, the mountains are beautiful. The beaches are beautiful. The rivers, there’s so many beautiful things out there that we see, you know, we see a lot of photos and Instagram and I’ll look at all these amazing places out there, but ultimately it’s the connections we create.
when we travel that really are meaningful and whether that’s with locals that we meet or maybe it’s with family members that we’re traveling with or maybe it’s strangers that are also traveling that just happen to be in the same place. And it’s all about the connections because I would not, like I wanna go to Morocco, Morocco is on my list. But if you told me I had to go to Morocco and I was gonna be in Morocco for a week and I couldn’t talk to anybody.
Elodie Courzadet (59:33.655)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (59:40.292)
I’d be, what’s the point? There’s absolutely no point if I can’t talk to people.
Elodie Courzadet (59:41.846)
and no points.
Jason Elkins (59:47.12)
Obviously I’m into talking to people and that’s why I’m doing a podcast. But it’s, I just, I think it’s about the connections and even sometimes when someone climbs a mountain and goes out and goes wingsuiting or whatever they’re doing there, maybe it’s a connection with themselves even. I think that that’s important as well. So I’m happy, happy you brought that up. And really that’s what the whole big world made small thing is about. It’s not about, it’s not about geography. It’s about.
Elodie Courzadet (59:51.842)
Yeah.
Elodie Courzadet (01:00:08.938)
Yeah, I was about to say that it, yeah, your podcast is about the connections.
Jason Elkins (01:00:15.432)
You know, so thank you. I’m happy you brought that up. Um, Eldy, this amazing conversation and I’m curious. I’m sure there’s something I should have asked. You brought up so many great things. Uh, is there anything I forgot to ask? Should have asked anything. You want to make sure our listeners here before we wrap it up.
Elodie Courzadet (01:00:33.322)
Well, if any tour operators, travel agents or anyway any professional of tourism is interested about hearing more about us, you know, work for the TMG group, which is Tien Minh group, Vietnamese group and Vivo Journeys DMC, we…
We do local experiences, we are a product led DMC at Vivo Journeys and the group owns an amazing range of hotels and cruises in Vietnam so any information you know you can always find me on LinkedIn but obviously I wish everyone to know more about Asia culture, to travel to South East Asia and make local connections.
Jason Elkins (01:01:17.5)
Very cool. And for anyone that’s listening to this that doesn’t have the pleasure of seeing Elodie’s face, you clearly care about what you’re doing. I can see it on your face. I can see the smile when you talk about Asia and connecting. So I would encourage anybody that’s listening to this that, you know, works in tourism, the travel agent.
And even if they just want to go to Asia and they’re not a travel agent, maybe still look at the website. It’s going to it’s going to be linked. And I’m sure that if somebody did reach out to you, I’m sure you could connect them with a partner that could take could take care of them. So we will have your website link in the show notes. And I look forward to working with you on future projects. And and next time I go back to actually this whole podcast started in Southeast Asia.
Elodie Courzadet (01:01:41.986)
Yeah, I would just do.
Elodie Courzadet (01:01:51.271)
Of course.
Jason Elkins (01:02:07.364)
I was literally, I went to Southeast Asia for the first time this past year. And it was kind of this moment of, oh, wow. It always seemed so far away. And I’m not going to lie. The flight felt like it was far away. And when I got there, it felt like it wasn’t so far away. And it was like, oh, okay. I’m in.
Elodie Courzadet (01:02:16.526)
Hehehehe
Elodie Courzadet (01:02:20.438)
Yeah, I’m sure, yeah.
Jason Elkins (01:02:28.732)
Bangkok, I’m in Bali and you know what? The people here are, yes, are different and are much more alike than they are different. And I just felt this connection that it was like, wow, I want everybody to be able to do that. I worked in the travel business most of my life. I was 49 years old before I went to Southeast Asia.
And that’s a big part of why I started this podcast is I just want people to just go out there and experience these things and realize that the world’s not that F’ing big. So Elodie, thank you for being part of that. Appreciate that.
Elodie Courzadet (01:03:01.491)
See you in Asia Jason.
Jason Elkins (01:03:03.732)
Sounds sounds good. Thank you so much. I appreciate you and I will chat with you again soon. I’m sure
Elodie Courzadet (01:03:09.742)
Thank you so much. See you soon.
Jason Elkins (01:03:11.917)
Alright thanks, bye.
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