Under the Inside Futouris heading, we grant you a glimpse behind the scenes at Futouris. Here, we will be regularly posting pictures and stories about projects that touch our Futourists.

Futourist is the new president of the Austrian Association of Travel Agents (ÖRV)

Vienna, 23 April 2012. TUI Group spokesperson Dr. Josef Peterleithner (53) was elected the new president of the Austrian Association of Travel Agents (ÖRV) at the 52nd Spring Congress held at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna with the theme "Beyond Mediocrity.” He sees promoting the political focus on sustainability that has arisen in recent years the main focus of his work, including, "Even more attention to the attractiveness of the workplace - combined with a higher quality and training, the ongoing spread of technology and the topic of sustainability," announced Dr. Josef Peterleithner. With a degree in law, Dr. Peterleithner has filled many different positions in the TUI Group over the past 30 years. He was also a sales manager of Terra Travel, a member of the Board of TUI Travel and of TUI Austria Center Reiseveranstaltungs Ltd. In 2008 he moved to the TUI Austria Holding GmbH and now functions as the company spokesman.
For more information, visit www.oerv.at

Futouris Annual Meeting 2012 in Berlin

Every year on the day before the start of the ITB the Futouristen hold an update on sustainability issues and an Annual General Meeting. With fiery coaching, the renowned Swiss scientist Hans Ruedi Müller utilized the opportunity to help Futouristen agree on their sustainability activities. In a lively debate, the members discussed their own commitment to sustainability and the role expected from Futouris. Members experienced a taste of the current approach to find and develop Futouris projects as presented by the General Manager, Prof. Dr. Ines Carstensen.  In addition to discussing individually sponsored projects, presentations for the biannual branch project were given by the PWN, the UNWTO, and NGOs from Africa, Myanmar and Mexico. After a mammoth session from 9 o’clock in the morning to 8 o’clock in the evening a representative of Öger Tours was quoted as saying, “Now I know what Commitment to Sustainability can mean. I absorbed everything like a sponge and enjoyed every minute.” “There’s no better way for an Annual Meeting to conclude,” said Chairman of the Board Andreas Koch.

Futouris in Vienna: CSR-Day - Holiday Fair in Vienna, 2012

Intense discussions and background talks about the sometimes not so idyllic world of tourism-- this was the theme of CSR 2012, which was held in cooperation with the Vienna International Holiday Fair, Naturefriends International (NFI) / respect and ECPAT Austria, from January 12 – 13, 2012 in Vienna. Futouris was well represented, including Peter Josef Leitner (TUI Austria), the Scientific Advisory Board members Nicole Häusler, Christian Baumgartner and Hans Ruedi Müller (right), Futouris Managing Director Ines Carstensen and Futouris Board member Jens Hulvershorn (pictured left). This year's theme highlighted the will of the travel industry to actively promote social responsibility by addressing issues such as human rights in tourism and the impact of tour operator business activities on the biological diversity at destinations they operate in.

Futouris Summit in Berlin leaves its mark

Immediately following the BTW Tourism Summit in Berlin's Hotel Adlon, the Futouristen began the climb to their own summit. The introductory keynote speeches addressed issues of sustainability in tourism from a national and global policy perspective and were presented by Gertrud Sahler, head of the Department of Conservation and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Dr. Dirk Glaesser, Head of Risk and Crisis Management at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Jürgen Büchy, president of the German Travel Association (DRV). The following is a memorable quote from the President of DRV (and a patron of Futouris) regarding the importance of healthy environments for the travel industry: "It is the foundation for our business and also vital to our lives. It is our duty to encourage competition to promote environmental protection and social justice. Only together can we achieve our goals."
The central point of the event was the announcement and presentation of the new Futouris branch-wide project replacing “Whale Habitat Tenerife.” The new project supports the North Sea Island of Juist with an ambitious goal: Juist is striving to become the first carbon neutral tourism destination in the world. Due to its remote location and susceptibility to impacts from climate change, issues regarding environment and conservation have been a high priority on the car-free island for decades. Futouris proposes to expand existing conservation programs and create new programs to help the island reach carbon-neutral status.

Futouristen "paddle" through the Hamburg, the "Green Capital" of Germany – Actively involving the members of Futouris in environmental issues!

During the Futouris strategy conference in Hamburg, an exciting “learn by doing” experience was a highlight in the conference program. In addition to selecting Hamburg, the “Green Capital” of Germany, as the location for the conference and utilizing environmentally friendly travel by train, the Futouristen wanted to lend a hand and promote a sustainable activity in the city. After a short introduction and instructions, the Futouristen piled into canoes to paddle along a canal leading to the beautiful Alster Lake. The goal of the outing was to collect as much trash as possible from the canal waters, while simultaneously experiencing the joy of being outdoors and clearing the mind. After three hours of paddling the Futouristen accumulated three large bins full of trash. The end result included not just the enjoyment of a beautiful canoe tour, but also the awareness that a great achievement always begins with small steps.

The Futouris Sustainability Initiative Starts a New Campaign: "I am a Futourist..."

Futouris starts the year 2011 with the "I am a Futourist..." campaign, aiming to strengthen the outward image of the association, acquire new members and promote the communication of sustainability goals and individual projects. "With this campaign, we aim to increase awareness for the importance of sustainable tourism in our member companies, but also particularly in the travel agencies and thus also with the end customers", says Andreas Koch, Chairman of the Executive Board of Futouris.

From now on, well-known tourism entrepreneurs give Futouris a familiar touch and explain why they personally support the association's sustainability goals: Thus, Dr. Volker Böttcher, Chairman of the Management Board of TUI Germany, is "… personally convinced that every little step helps to secure the future and to preserve the beauty of our holiday countries and regions." Also Dr. Peter Fankhauser, Chairman of the Management Board of Thomas Cook AG, personally believes "… in the integrity of human life and its foundations. I spend lots of time in nature with my family and want my children to also be able to do so." Jürgen Büchy, President of the DRV and patron of Futouris, is a Futourist because "… I am committed with my association to the implementation of Futouris projects at the destinations, showing what can be achieved when a sector pursues common objectives."

Futouris in Vienna: CSR Days - Travel Fair in Vienna 2011

The theme of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also gaining more and more importance in the tourism industry. This can be seen, among others, in the discussions within the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the European Tourism Forum, and not least also in the media reactions to the first CSR-certified tour operators.

For this reason, the focus of this year's travel fair in Vienna, which took place on January 13^th and 14^th, 2011, was to inform and sensitise different stakeholders from the tourism sector about the subject with current panel discussions and expert presentations. On this occasion, the Futourists (Andreas Koch, TUI Germany – Chairman of Futouris, Dr. Josef Peterleitner, TUI Austria, Dr. Ines Carstensen, Management Board, Futouris) presented the new organisation of Futouris in collaboration with the internationally represented scientific committee. The newly introduced accreditation procedure was discussed, for securing the sustainability performance of Futouris projects, as well as the role Futouris can play as a tourist industry initiative. With a hearty praise on behalf of scientific committee, well-known NGO's and other relevant stakeholders from the sustainability context, Futourists are invigorated in continuing the pursuit of their objectives.

Futouris in Morocco - 60^th DRV Annual Conference and 6^th DRV German Travel Agency Conference

For the first time in its 60 years of existence, the German Travel Association (DRV) organised its annual conference in combination with the 6^th German Travel Agency Conference in Morocco. In the surroundings of the Mediterranean city of Agadir, the DRV Executive Board elections also took place, where the former marketing director of Deutsche Bahn, Jürgen Büchy, was elected as the new DRV President.

During the three-day (November 25th to 27th 2010) sector event, Futouris had the chance to meet new friends and allies. Entirely new collaboration constellations with members and Morocco's heads of tourism arose within the framework of the exceptionally candid and lively speed-dating rounds. Under the motto: "The German travel industry – with professionalism in the future“, top-class speakers from economics, politics, research and education lead discussions and supported the event with an interesting and informative mixture of subjects. The sustainability and innovation in the travel industry theme attracted much attention through the granting of the 23rd International Environmental Award ("EcoTrophea 2010") to the Deutsche Bahn.

Personal experience, Fanny Calvo-Aguilar 
InWent trainee from Costa Rica

"FUTOURIS: An organization that works to improve the world by developing sustainable projects”

If I was supposed to name my experience at FUTOURIS, I would definitely call it “A success story”. Why? Since day one everyone in the organization has been wonderful. The two most important aspects that I have learned from this organization is:

Commitment: All the people that I have met so far are committed to FUTOURIS's vision and mission. They all believe that we can work together regardless of who you are or where you come from, regardless of what language you speak or culture you bring with you. Everyone has a "Futouris Heart", which means, that the idea to develop and protect comes from the heart. Because of this, I know that when the FUTOURIS members decided to sponsor a sustainable project, they do it not only because is part of their job requirements but again, because is something that comes from their hearts. Our world is labouring under the pressure of human need, but when you see that there are people that still believe that we can have a positive impact, when you see that there are people who fight to protect the planet and it's biodiversity, it’s people... when you see all this with your own eyes, then you have hope again and the motivation to be part of such a great team! It’s contagious; you can't ignore the feeling to be part of something bigger than yourself because you can feel it in the people of this organization.

La union hace la fuerza: in Spanish that means “union builds strength”. After seeing that the FUTOURIS members work in companies that are competitors I felt even more proud of working here. For me it’s just unbelievable to see that they are all gathering their strength and energy to work toward the same goal, to have the same purpose. Here it does not matter that outside FUTO U R IS they all compete for customers…but in FUTOURIS they all believe in achieving the same thing; a safer world in a protected environment.

'Together more can be done than individually', If this is also your vision and you want to be part of contributing to such an idea, I can definitely recommend FUTOURIS as a partner.

If I had the opportunity to continue working at FUTOURIS in the future, I wouldn't hesitate… FUTOURIS “ROCKS”

Fanny Calvo–Aguilar  

The new office

Since the 1^st of August, Futouris has its own office and thus also a new telephone number. Residing in the ground floor of the Schickler House in Berlin, Futouris moved out of the German Travel Association (DRV) office into its own space.

Here, strong women take care of the operative business and visions of Futouris. Dr. Ines Carstensen (Managing Director) and her current assistant Fanny Calvo Aguilar are the contact persons in Berlin, focusing mainly on projects in Spanish-speaking countries.