Ophélie Le Livec is a traveler extraordinaire, French expatriate and rockstar on the rise in the tourism industry. She serves as a creative design specialist for VisitNorfolk and was recently selected from applicants around the world as one of the future tourism industry leaders/rising stars in this year’s Destinations International 30 Under 30 class.

Originally from France, Ophélie has worked in the travel and tourism space for nearly a decade. She fell in love with tourism when living in Toronto, Canada to study English in 2011. A year later, she began working in tourism and never looked back.

After working in two French DMOs, she felt ready for a change. In embracing one of her favorite quotes, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” Ophélie left her home country of France, venturing way out of her comfort zone, and settled in the United States. Here, she joined the VisitNorfolk team, where she’s been for five and a half years. She has worked in Visitor Services, Convention Services, and most recently, Marketing and Communications, where she designed the VisitNorfolk 2022 City Guide in-house for the first time in the organization’s history.

Travel has been a significant part of Ophélie’s professional life and her personal life as well. She hasn’t been everywhere in the world, but it’s certainly on her list. During her free time, she swaps houses with other travelers via Home Exchange, seeking as many opportunities for world travel as possible. Even when she’s not traveling, she’s likely planning her next trip or creating travel albums to commemorate past voyages. She also loves cooking French recipes, working out and attending Norfolk’s stellar events.