John Telfer

Project Advisor

After graduating in Economics, John spent 3 years backpacking funded by a mixture of English teaching in Syria, taking trucks to Iran and credit-controlling in Reading. Always a fan of journeys, his travels took him from Maidenhead to the Chinese-Pakistan border and back, all round the Middle East and an extended journey from New York to Bolivia

After a chance encounter with an abandoned Guardian he noticed an ad for tour-leaders for Explore, applied and after a rigorous interview spent 3 years taking groups up mountains, through rainforest and exploring ancient sites in Turkey, Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala and Belize. Office life beckoned and over the following 3 decades as a Director looked after Responsible travel, Product, Risk Management, Safety and 2 spells as Interim Managing Director.

Now a non-executive Director on the Hotelplan UK board and a visiting Professor at Surrey University (and a surprised recipient of Travel Profession of the year) , John continues his passion for Responsible travel and has in-depth knowledge of many of the countries where the Derek Moore Foundation operates coupled with a deep understanding of sustainability issues.