Aito members have paid their own personal tributes to the late Derek Moore.
Tour operators at the association’s annual general meeting shared fond memories of the former Aito chairman, who died in January aged 77, and thanked him for helping them get a foot on the career ladder.
Many members who worked for Moore during his days at Explore, which he co-founded, described him as an important mentor in their early travel careers.
More: Obituary: Derek Moore – ‘the brightest of guiding lights’
John Telfer, non-executive director of Explore parent Hotelplan, who first met Moore in 1988, said: “He opened doors for me. He was a charismatic man and so profoundly knowledgeable. I have never met anyone with a stronger raison d’etre than Derek. He brought order into chaos and was a mentor to many people.”
Moore was born in Leeds in 1945 and became a head of geography, despite studying history, before embarking on a travel career as an overland tour guide and then co-founding Explore in 1981.
Telfer recalled Derek’s smooth handling of the Yemen crisis in 1998, in which 12 Explore customers were kidnapped and three were killed.
Telfer added: “He made the almost impossible, possible. He was a groundbreaker and a master of logistics. Derek made a difference to so many people here and I owe him so much.”
Former Aito executive director Kate Kenward told how Moore had helped her when she joined Aito in 2008. “I didn’t know anything about running an association. I learned fast with the help of Derek,” she said.
She credited Moore with understanding the importance of “giving back” to help make a difference in communities through the establishment of his charity The Derek Moore Foundation in 2019. “It was something that would do good long after he had gone,” she added.
Ian Coates, managing director of Aito member Archipelago Choice, who worked for Moore at Explore, said: “For me Derek represented opportunities that I never knew existed. The door to travel was opened to me by Derek. I always felt that Explore was the university of adventure travel and Derek held the key.”
He admitted Moore was at times “controversial and a bit hard” but said many in Aito owed their lifestyles today to the time they spent with Moore.
Aito executive director Martyn Sumners met Moore when Holidaybreak bought Explore. “Derek loved to be in the thick of things. He was full of ideas but could be stubborn. He was a great moderator. He had a huge influence on everyone he met,” said Sumners.
Current chairman Chris Rowles revealed that Moore had collapsed at airport check-in for his flight to Braga to attend Aito’s conference in November last year.
But he said his determination to attend the event meant he was on another flight the very next day. “Virtually nobody [at conference] knew what happened,” said Rowles, who described Aito as being “part of his [Moore’s] DNA.”
Moore’s partner Amelia and two sons Amani and Derek Junior, known as DJ, attended the tributes at the AGM in London.