• Professional experts from the international tourism industry are invited to apply to be mentors in the programme and support participating entrepreneurial teams
• Approx. 1,000 participants will receive six months’ training, targeted business mentoring and financial support
• Key focus on small and medium-sized enterprises that have a positive social or environmental impact in their region
• Programme supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Berlin, 30th August 2021. enpact and the TUI Care Foundation have officially launched the Tourism Recovery Programme. During the six month programme, the participating businesses will gain access to dedicated mentoring, business development support and financial assistance from the German government.

The mentoring programme, which will take place between November 2021 and January 2022, will provide tailored guidance through individual sessions with experts from across the global tourism industry. The TUI Care Foundation and enpact are currently recruiting experienced industry professionals from a range of functional areas including finance, marketing, sales, sustainability and business or product development, with other relevant fields of expertise also welcome. Tourism industry professionals and business development experts can apply to become mentors via the TUI Care Foundation or enpact websites until the 12th of September.

Lucia De Carlo, Head of the Division for the Cooperation with the Private Sector and Sustainable Economic Policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), representing the Ministry which supports the project, said when welcoming the participants: “The promotion of sustainable development through tourism is more urgent than ever. The whole tourism value chain has been hit hard over the past year, due to the pandemic. Our measures help local tourism providers sustain themselves financially during the crisis, preserve their infrastructure, and prepare the industry for sustainable and resilient reconstruction.” Lucia De Carlo also expressed that she is glad to continue the cooperation with enpact and the TUI Care Foundation that started last year. “The programme has directly supported 330 companies from six countries with great success. It provided innovative entrepreneurs with a great deal of expertise, financial support, and valuable networks. Despite the ongoing crisis, the participants were able to gain more confidence and further develop and advance their businesses.”  

Felix Ruf, Head of Component of Sustainable Development through Tourism for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, added that “the programme will not only help to make tourism emerge stronger from the crisis, but also contribute to sustainable development with the broadest possible impact. We're very proud to have such strong partners like enpact, and the TUI Care Foundation.”

The tourism industry contributes 10% of the global economic output and is responsible for one in every ten jobs around the world. The Tourism Recovery Programme builds on this industry potential by delivering a development plan for the participating businesses, to support their recovery and growth through the ongoing pandemic.  It provides a framework to maximise the impact of socially, environmentally or technologically innovative tourism enterprises and creates strong ties with the European travel market, ensuring the infrastructural recovery of these travel destinations.

One of the 315 participating enterprises is Olarioi Safaris in Kenya, a Maasai community-owned safari tour operator. Located within the community, the business has created income opportunities for over 37 Maasai to work as tour guides. Over the last four years, the company has also enabled 183 Maasai girls to attend primary school, high school and university.

In Egypt, VRTEEK is innovating the way we experience historical sites by providing immersive Virtual Reality experiences which increase the accessibility potential of tourism. The business offers a virtual tour of the famous El Muizz street in Cairo and is working with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities to develop VR experiences in over 300 tourism locations.

Click & Drive Tours in South Africa is a Cape Town-based tour operator working with a community centre in a township where they bring tourists to buy local crafts. The young business wants to take part in the Tourism Recovery Programme to accelerate its digital transformation and develop its online presence.

The Tourism Recovery Programme draws on the experience of the previous COVID-19 Relief Programme for Tourism, which concluded in June 2021. 352 participants from 150 tourism businesses in Mexico, Kenya, Indonesia and Jordan benefitted from the same opportunity. Overall, 1213 employees and over 3000 indirect stakeholders, suppliers and partner organisations benefitted from the programme.

Both the Tourism Recovery Programme and the COVID-19 Relief Programme for Tourism are part of the Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative by enpact which was created to provide direct support for entrepreneurs in emerging tourism markets and help them overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.