Travel Women We Love: Atout France’s Melanie Paul-Hus

Aristotle famously said, “pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work,” and a very good example of that is Melanie Paul-Hus.  The Atout France Canadian Director is so immersed in the knowledge and culture of everything France, that it’s hard to remember she wasn’t born there. In fact, she grew up in Montreal, Quebec.

“For many French-speaking Canadians, there is a natural and deep-down connection to France,” she tells Travel Market Report Canada after their annual Rendez-vous conference in Lyon. “And so, you keep on learning, and you keep on connecting, and I just consume all this information. I love it. I thrive on learning more and remembering everything.”

Like many people in our industry, Paul-Hus didn’t originally intend on a career in travel.  

She had travelled as an exchange student to Germany in her teens and went to university where she graduated from Broadcast Journalism. Being fluent in English, French and German was a big asset and helped land her first job, covering a maternity leave at Tourisme Quebec. After her contract ended, an opening at Atout France became available where she’s remained for 18 years.

“Since I studied journalism, I was able to put myself into the media’s shoes and think, would I appreciate this kind of press release? Or what kind of tools do I need to really be able to standout and to provide correct information? I know how journalists work with deadlines and understand their needs So that was really very interesting experience for me.”

Paul-Hus smiles when discussing mentors and mentions two. The first is Joseline from Tourisme Quebec, who taught her the importance of human connections for success.

“I remember her way of envisioning big projects.  She was always on the move and really encouraging us to create and attend more activities in person because the more human connections we have, the better,” she explains. “If you want to be successful, you need to go out and meet people. I think she really explained those objectives to me very well and made the process easy.

It’s a rhythm that I learned and has helped also keep me very well organized today.”

Paul-Hus’s other mentor is Air France’s Diane Audet, Communications Manager, Air France KLM Canada.

“Diane and I started working very closely when I began at Atout France and she was in a communications position, and I still look up to her this day,” she says.

“The way she handled all of her missions was always very impressive.  We worked on several projects together and that’s when I realized just how many tasks, she was responsible for and how pivoting her role was at Air France. You could feel the importance of the strategy, the development. She was always answering requests anytime of the week, anytime of the day, and was solving problems and in real time.”

Paul-Hus says she’s fortunate to have support from both family and friends but also colleagues who help her try to maintain a work-life balance.  She says she’s grateful for her team who uses a “all hands on deck” approach when she’s out of the office to help ensure things wrong smoothly.

 “I have a great team. I’m always, you know, surrounded with people that are animated with the same passion.

The beauty of visiting France is that there’s emotion everywhere you go, and I think that’s really imprinted on me.”

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