DER Touristik Foundation e.V. - Our path – our goal 

In the beginning there was an idea. The idea gave rise to a project. The project became an affair of the heart. And the realisation grew that the passionate will to do something good over the long term also requires a firm structure: the DER Touristik Foundation! It was initiated in 2014 by DER Touristik as a non-profit association. With this step, the internationally operating travel group acknowledges its social responsibility towards people and nature in the holiday destinations.  

We are celebrating a decade of impact with DER Touristik Foundation!
Join us for a journey around the world and experience our proudest achievements!

10_Jahre_Foundation
10 Jahre Foundation
Sören Hartmann

Sören Hartmann,
Chairman of the Management Board of the DER Touristik Foundation,
specifies the goals:

Our incentive is to harness the power of tourism to protect the diversity of our planet, promote economic development in host countries, and to fight poverty. We afford new future opportunities to the people and animals living there. Because the world should offer everyone a decent quality of life. In doing so, we treat people, the animals and nature with respect. It is always a case of helping people to help themselves – very specifically, on site.”

A broad and effective network has now developed: together with other  non-profit associations, foundations and aid organisations, the DER Touristik Foundation makes a sustainable and holistic commitment to promoting the education of children and young people, to development aid as well as to the preservation of ecological habitats and species diversity. Here, your donations are used 100% for the funding projects – every cent is spent efficiently and for its intended purpose. 

Inspiring commitment

The DER Touristik Foundation has been promoting social and ecological projects in tourism regions since 2014

School construction

vocational training for young people and women

Animal welfare

Nature conservation

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At a glance: what the DER Touristik Foundation achieved since 2014

97 projects in 28 countries on 5 continents, of which:

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school construction
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education
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animal welfare
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nature conservation

The starting point was school construction projects in Africa and Asia. Here, the DER Touristik Foundation worked closely with the Reiner Meutsch Stiftung “FLY & HELP”, which has specialised in promoting education and training, and, thanks to 700 new school projects, has made it possible for thousands of children in Africa, Asia and Latin America to attend school. In cooperation with bothe Foundations, 71 school construction projects in holiday destinations were implemented, the construction progress was supervised and long-term support was ensured. 

It was not long before the DER Touristik Foundation executed vocational training programmes, too, which provide young people with prospects after leaving school. This was soon complemented by nature and species conservation initiatives, whose focus is on preserving habitats. Facilitating these global projects are people who are wholly committed to achieving the goals. A number of projects have now been successfully completed, while others are still ongoing and new ones are in the pipeline.  

 Even during the Corona pandemic, the DER Touristik Foundation fully supported its project partners. Many aid projects struggled to survive, as donations largely disappeared and tourism, as an important source of income, came to an almost complete standstill. The reliable support enables aid organisations to continue their important work.   

The DER Touristik Foundation is constantly in motion, and succeeds in making a difference. With a view to the future, it will carry on advocating sustainable development in the holiday destinations. So that our planet remains a place worth living – for everyone. 

The future starts now

Since 2022, a focus has been on the internationalisation of the DER Touristik Foundation. In the meantime, the international subsidiaries in Switzerland, France, Eastern Europe, the UK and the Nordic countries have also joined the Foundation as full members and support the association.  

Sören Hartmann looks forward to further establishing the network of partners and supporters worldwide:

“Bundling strengths of the entire DER Touristik Group for a common good cause is clear to see. Greater transparency will achieve a greater impact. That is why we would like to publicise the Foundation’s work within international business units. After all, it harbours enormous potential: we aim to inspire and motivate employees and customers outside Germany, too. To that end, we are using Local Foundation Ambassadors, who support the DER Touristik Foundation in implementing the association’s work in their respective business units through communications, project work, fundraising and representation. All together, we will continue and develop the DER Touristik Foundation’s path to success.” 

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