A life less ordinary

Richard Matuzevich is still reminiscing about his recent trip to the Republic of Uzbekistan in late November.

"It is an exotic country, and the people are very kind and welcoming," says the 31-year-old from Sigulda, a town in central Latvia.

Matuzevich especially took a shine to the local mosques, music and cuisine－and the meat in particular.

"The architecture is very nice and I like how the food is prepared the way it should be," he says.

The Uzbekistan experience was a perk of his job at the World Tourism Cities Federation based in China's capital, Beijing.

He traveled there for an event hosted by the WTCF to boost tourism cooperation and enhance communications between China and countries in Central Asia, and he was lucky enough to sample a taste of what the country had to offer in his free time there.

"It went very well and the local people went out of their way to help us during our time there," he says.

The WTCF job has enabled Matuzevich to travel to over 40 cities more than in 20 countries－including Morocco, Germany, Russia, India, Finland and the US－since he began working there five years ago.

"My day-to-day duties include working with member cities to set up training programs, organize forums and providing information about the tourism industry and the latest trends. We also share case studies and other current working practices among the member cities, such as in new developments in smart tourism," he says.

"Our strong point is outbound Chinese tourism, and since we have conducted a lot of research on this topic, our member cities receive the latest information and profiles about Chinese tourists."

In 2018, Chinese tourists made 150 million visits abroad, an increase of 14.7 percent compared to the previous year.

The federation started with 56 city members and now it has a member network of more than 200 cities.

"More cities around the world are taking up the initiative to join us,"Matuzevich says.

A summer trip to China with his father in 2005 planted the seeds of desire in him to further explore the country.

He acted as an English-Latvian interpreter for his father who didn't speak much English, and they traveled to Guangzhou in southern Guangdong province, Changsha in central Hunan province, and Beijing.

"Everything was on a huge scale, with so many skyscrapers and crowds of people," he recalls, adding that it was quite different from his home.

After graduating from high school, Matuzevich spent just a month at an international university studying business in the neighboring country of Estonia.

"It didn't really suit me and I felt like I needed to learn more and see the world, so I decided to move to China to study the Chinese language and get to know the culture," he says.

In February 2008, Matuzevich arrived in Beijing to study Mandarin at Tsinghua University.

"The first half of the year in China was the most challenging, but at the same time, it was the most fun," he says.

"It was refreshing and exciting to meet people from all over the world, such as South Africa, Chile, Canada and the UK," he says.

He embraced these new cultures and made good friends with whom he still keeps in touch to this day.

Matuzevich traveled to many places across the country during his study in China, including Shanghai, Tianjin and Shanxi province.

"In the beginning, I was drawn to the metropolitan vibe of Shanghai, but I've grown more fond of Beijing for its traditional and cultural elements, such as the hutong and the Great Wall," he says.

After 18 months of studying, Matuzevich had grasped a working knowledge of Mandarin.

"I could understand people and hold basic conversations," he says.

With the support of his language skills, he chose to further his studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics. During his senior year, he started an internship at the WTCF, where he continued to meet different people, experience different cultures, travel and see new places.

"My colleagues were very nice and ready to help," he says.

"I gained a new perspective from my Chinese co-workers and developed problem-solving skills."

His language skills improved, and he found he could understand more complicated documents at work.

The internship experience led to a full-time position at the organization after Matuzevich's graduation.

"I was the first foreign employee there and in the first year or two I would say that the workplace seemed just like an another 'university'. Most of the meetings were in Chinese, and I'm grateful that I learned so much more," he says.

His engagement also brought changes to the Chinese staff.

"Many of my colleagues are now more willing to speak their mind, while before they were quite reserved and a little wary of sharing their opinions," he says.

Matuzevich has also helped diversify the office environment, says Cai Hua, a senior official with the WTCF.

"We enjoyed the Latvian culture he has brought from his home," Cai adds.

His Latvian, English, Russian and Chinese language skills have also been a great help to the tourism organization, according to Cai.

Matuzevich believes that the job has made him a better person.

"Working in tourism has given me the opportunity to travel around the world, get to understand more cultures and be more open-minded," he says.

"I see the world is both big and small, and there are so many opportunities to be grasped."

He has taken great satisfaction from helping build bridges to enable people of different countries to trade and share solutions from one place to another.

Matuzevich will celebrate his 12th year in February.

"It might sound cheesy, but I love China and China has become my second home－let's see what happens next," he says.