ALBERT TEO

Managing Director, Borneo Eco Tours, Malaysia

A graduate in Economics (Honours) from the University of London in 1977, Albert Teo has been in the tourism industry for the last 31 years.

Over the three decades, he has been a hotelier, tour operator, lodge and backpacker owner and operator, photographer, author, publisher, conference organiser, ecotourism consultant, speaker and lecturer. Albert is presently working on designing and building two new ecolodges in Sabah.

A keen photographer, he has trekked over 1,000km in Borneo and published over 150 postcards designs of Borneo, published seven books including the best selling Sabah -Land of the Sacred Mountain, Journey through Borneo, Saving Paradise-The Story of Sukau Rainforest Lodge, among others.

His companies Borneo Eco Tours and Sukau Rainforest Lodge have won numerous international ecotourism awards. The success of Sukau Rainforest Lodge has encouraged him to share his experience of running the lodge in "Saving Paradise" which he co-authored with Carol Patterson in 2005 which documented the ten years of operation of the lodge.

Over the last ten years, Albert Teo has organised four highly successful international ecotourism conferences in Malaysia including World Ecotourism Conference and Field Seminars 1999, Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference APeco2002, Borneo Ecotourism Conference BEC2005. He co-convened the Borneo Tourism Conference BTC2007 in Kuching with Professor Ross Dowling of Edith Cowan University, Australia in September 2007.

Albert has served in various positions in the tourism industry including Sabah Chapter Chairman of Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents MATTA, Chairman of Sabah Tourist Association, Advisor of The International Ecotourism Society, USA, marketing committee of Sabah Tourism Board among others. For the last three years, Albert was a member of the Finalist Selection Committee for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

In the last few years Albert has travelled around the Asia Pacific countries as a keynote speaker on ecotour and ecolodge operations. In October 2006, Albert was appointed Adjunct Lecturer for three years by Edith Cowan University, Australia for his contribution to the ecotourism industry.

Albert's latest passion is to raise RM1,000,000.00 under the Young Entrepreneur Seed Program or YES Program in the next ten years (2008-2017) to help raise at least 200 young entrepreneurs in rural Sabah through his non profit organization Borneo Ecotourism, Solutions and Technologies (BEST).

More information is available at www.borneoecotours.com