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2023-2024 Colloquium Series
Putting Sustainable Travel to Practice
Mei Zhang
PhD Student, Environmental Science & Policy Management
University of California, Berkeley
Founding, WildChina
Friday, April 12th, 5PM-6:30PM PDT Hybrid Presentation
In Person: Gifford Room, 221 Anthropology and Art Practice Bldg.
University of California, Berkeley
On Zoom: [click here]
Please join us for dinner and further conversation at Great China Restaurant at 7:15pm.
RSVP to graburn@berkeley.edu for dinner
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Abstract
Tourism industry in China has changed rapidly in the past 25 years. Chinese tourism is blessed with unapparelled cultural and natural resource but is also challenged with intense pressure from a large population. This talk will explore how sustainable tourism is put into practice differently by one company WildChina in China, and then discuss some opportunities of sustainable tourism in China as a whole. The talk will cover three parts:
1. A case study. This is a brief case study to show case a unique WildChina trip.
2. Pillars of sustainable travel. This part will go into detailed discussion of the interpretation of sustainable travel through three pillars of economic, cultural, and natural dimensions.
3. Putting sustainable travel to practice. This look at China’s unique approach to sustainable travel and highlighting some opportunities for innovation.
Speaker Bio
Mei Zhang is the Founder of WildChina, a China based travel company. Mei started her career as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company until she found her true passion in sustainable travel. Since founding in 2000, WildChina grew into an award-winning business, pioneering a sophisticated interpretation of Chinese culture and nature. WildChina’s innovative operation was featured in multiple Harvard Business School case studies.
Mei’s the author of Travels Through Dali with a Leg of Ham, a travel memoir/cook book published by Penguin Books in 2016. Mei is also an active influencer on Chinese social media (Little Red Book & Wechat Video Channel) with more than 1 million followers, promoting sustainable lifestyles. She is a China Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Mei is currently a PhD student in Environmental Science & Policy Management at the University of California Berkeley. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mei is a mother of 3 children.
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