Anna Klapper

Anna Klapper

A global tourism specialist focused on destination marketing, branding and public-private partnerships, Ms. Klapper has guided projects, and conceptualized and implemented events in more than 20 countries on five continents. A native Swede, Anna structures marketing and business development from a cross-cultural perspective that concentrates on applying the right touches in the right markets.

Ms. Klapper is the Founder of Borealis Strategies in Washington, D.C. Among her current projects she is the Senior Directory of Global Market Development for Welcome Chinese, where she oversee the international expansion of the China Tourism Academy certification program. In this role, she has played a leading role in developing the certification product, working on training programs for UNESCO World Heritage sites, and introducing new markets to Chinese outbound travelers. From 2012-2017, Ms. Klapper was Manager of Global Trade Development at Brand USA, the public-private partnership mandated with increasing international travel to the United States. She led efforts specifically in the established markets of the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, and emerging markets such as China and India.

Ms. Klapper has been a lecturer at George Washington University on sustainable tourism practices. She has spoken at major international business conferences such as the Africa Trade Investment Global Summit, focusing on the role of tourism development in economic growth strategies. She volunteers for the Meridian Center in Washington, D.C., where she hosts foreign journalists, technical experts, cultural figures and others participating in U.S. State Department-organized travel and people-to-people exchange programs.

Prior to working with the tourism industry she held positions with the South African Government, various international organizations and non-profits.

Anna has lived in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the United States. Since 2011, she has made Washington, D.C., her home.

Qualifications

Certificate in Route Development for Destinations and tourism, Airline Strategy Development (ASM)

Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP), Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

Project Management Studies, University of California, Berkeley,

Bachelor of Arts with honors in Sociology with Development Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom

Membership in Professional Associations

Global Sustainable Tourism Council

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)