Dr. Thomas Bauer is: an Australian of Bavarian origin who has 50 years experience in hospitality and tourism.

His academic qualifications include a PhD from Monash University, a Master of Business in Tourism Development from Victoria University in Melbourne as well as undergraduate degrees in business and tourism from Germany.

He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, an auditor for THE ICE, the International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

He has taught and researched tourism at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Victoria University for 23 years and has consulted to UNWTO in Maldives, Vietnam and Korea as well as to the governments of Hong Kong SAR and CNTA in the PRC. He is currently the team leader for an integrated tourism master plan in Indonesia. Thomas is a firm believer in the need to make tourism a sustainable industry and him and his wife are the owners of a protected rainforest in Queensland, Australia.

He is also an expedition guide in Antarctica and the Arctic.