Pictured from left: Yenzekile Nozipho Mathebula and Tlangelani Everjoy with anti-poaching dog Zee, part of the Black Mambas all-female anti-poaching task force in South Africa. By Ilan Godfrey/Getty Images for Lumix
Kuoni UK is to become a full member of the Der Touristik Foundation, as part of the operator’s commitment to sustainability and “supporting tourism as a force for good”.
Set up in 2014 by Der Touristik – Kuoni’s parent company – the foundation funds more than 80 projects in 26 countries.
As a full member, the UK business will take an active role in the foundation and its activities.
Projects include rescuing coral reefs in the Caribbean and providing protection for dolphins and seals in Greece.
It funds tourism education initiatives to help disadvantaged young people, and projects to protect natural habitats and support the welfare of animals in tourism.
Derek Jones, Kuoni UK chief executive, joins the international Der Touristik Foundation board, while Rachel O’Reilly, Kuoni’s communications director, becomes the foundation’s ambassador in the UK.
Jones said: “There are some brilliant initiatives which the foundation supports, particularly success stories such as the Smiling Gecko aid project in Cambodia (pictured below), a training and education centre near Phnom-Penh which supports disadvantaged young people attend school and learn a trade, and the Black Mambas all-female anti-poaching task force in South Africa (main picture).
“We’ll be raising awareness of the foundation’s work with our own staff and the wider travel industry to get more involved in the work of the foundation so we put something back into the communities and environments in destinations our customers visit each year.”
