Jens Thraenhart

Dr. Reza Soltani is a Belgian marketing psychologist and a distinguished global citizen who has traveled to over 120 countries and speaks seven languages. He brings a wealth of international experience to the field of global travel, having served as a strategic advisor for both the United Nations and the European Commission on development projects within emerging economies.

As a leading specialist in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, Dr. Soltani focuses on how tourism can serve as a bridge between cultures and a tool for spiritual and social harmony. This expertise is particularly relevant to the development of Buddhist tourism, where the principles of mindfulness, non-violence, and cultural preservation intersect with the modern travel industry. His work explores how pilgrimage and heritage sites can be managed to foster both economic growth and regional stability.

Dr. Soltani currently serves as the Director of International Relations for the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) in New York and is a Partner and Co-organizer of the Global Tourism Forum, a high-level summit held in collaboration with UN Tourism. In these roles, he advocates for the transformative power of travel to create a more peaceful world.

Dr. Axel Bruns

Dr. Axel Bruns is a renowned scholar, a pioneer of Buddhist Circuit Tourism, a distinguished geographer, author, and travel industry veteran who has spent over three decades documenting and navigating the cultural landscapes of Asia. With a career rooted in the academic study of tourism and a life lived at the heart of the Buddhist world, he offers a unique bridge between scholarly research and on-the-ground expertise.

A graduate of West Berlin’s Free University, Dr. Bruns’s early research into the impact of tourism in Sri Lanka set the stage for a lifetime of exploration. Since 1993, he began working as a tour leader for several German travel companies. His work focused heavily on Myanmar and China, where he frequently guided tours along the Silk Road, exploring the historical spread of Buddhism from India to China. He has been a pivotal figure in guiding cultural expeditions across China and Myanmar. His deep expertise in the Silk Road—specifically the historical spread of Buddhism from India to China—has made him a sought-after tour leader for travelers seeking a profound understanding of China’s Buddhist heritage.

His connection to Southeast Asia deepened when he migrated to Yangon, Myanmar, in 1996 and fully immersing himself in the country’s spiritual and artistic traditions. His academic contributions are headlined by his definitive PhD research on Burmese Puppetry (Hamburg University, 1999), a work that remains a cornerstone of Southeast Asian cultural studies. Dr. Bruns is also a prolific writer whose works serve as essential reading for those interested in the preservation and promotion of Asian heritage. He later founded Azure Sky Travels.

Joe Cummings

Joe Cummings first arrived in Thailand in 1977 to pursue interests in Buddhism while teaching at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology (now KMUTT).

Lim Kooi Fong

Lim Kooi Fong is owner and founder of Bodhi Vision, the company that manages and owns the Buddhist Channel. He is one of the earliest pioneer of Buddhist AI - NORBU AI (https://norbu-ai.org). He is also the founder and owner of Buddhist Travel.