Those were just some of the moving tributes paid to the late Explore co-founder and former Aito chair during the association’s AGM in London on Wednesday (29 March).

The best part of an hour was set aside after business sessions to allow members to pay their respects and share memories of Moore, who passed away aged 77 in January after a long illness.

Books with stories and photographs of Moore during his time with Aito were given to his partner Amelia and two sons, Amani and Derek Junior (DJ), who attended the tribute.

Born in Leeds in 1945, Moore, who visited more than 100 countries, co-founded Explore in 1981 and went on to play an instrumental role with Aito after selling the business in 2000, serving as chair of the association for more than a decade.

Later in his life, Moore penned a book about his career and launched The Derek Moore Foundation in 2019 to champion sustainable travel and fund community tourism projects.

Overseeing proceedings, John Telfer, non-executive director at Explore parent Hotelplan, who was hired as a tour leader by Moore in 1986, thanked him for “quite literally opening the doors to my career”, adding how Moore “had been with me in some way for almost 40 years”.

He remembered him as “a groundbreaker”, someone who was “profoundly knowledgeable” and “the master of logistics in extreme circumstances”, recalling Moore’s successful handling of operations when a number of Explore customers were kidnapped in Yemen in 1998.

Telfer said that since Explore’s founding, between 500,000 and a million people had travelled on experiential trips as a result of Moore’s visionary approach in bringing adventure travel to a vast number of people.

“He brought experiential travel to an audience that would never have encountered it,” he added.

Aito’s current chair Chris Rowles, who took over from Moore in 2020, spoke to his predecessor’s fierce passion for the association and how he had fought to attend its 2022 overseas conference in Braga despite ill health.

“Derek had collapsed in the check-in queue and was taken to hospital [but] he so adamant he was going to make it to Braga,” said Rowles. “He flew out the next day with the rest of the delegates, and I think virtually nobody knew what had happened.”

“Aito was so much a part of his life – a part of his DNA. There was no way he wasn’t going to Braga and that just says so much about the relationship between Derek and Aito.”

Aito’s former executive director Kate Kenward remembered Moore as her “go-to person”, who was a constant support during her decade with the association.

“We spoke almost every day, and he always had good advice to give you,” she said, while also recalling Moore’s more playful side. “He was often the last person standing at the conference bar, or at the piano, but he was always there, right on time the next morning,” said Kenward. “His city tours were often much better than those arranged by the conference’s host destination.”

“What a legacy he has grown at Aito and left us with such great memories of him,” she concluded.

Sharing his memories, Martyn Sumners, Aito’s current executive director, said Moore had had "a huge influence on everyone he came into contact with".

“Despite his reputation for being frugal – the foundation proves he was a very generous man,” he said. “Derek loved to be in the thick of all things Aito. He was full of ideas and happily gave me his time whenever I needed it.

“Even when I was in Australia in January, he was still in contact with me over text and email and apologising that he had to have a couple of tests, and so might struggle to complete a task I had given him.

“I told him not to worry [about the tests] and said I’m sure it was just routine. I wish I’d called him. He was a great man, and I’m pleased he saw me as a friend.”