Hartmut Finke has been involved in several countries’ hospitality and tourism industries over the past 35 years. He trained at universities and colleges in Australia and Germany. He completed a diploma in hotel and catering management.
Hartmut held senior management positions in some of the world’s leading hotels, primarily during their pre- and post-opening phases.
In 1993, he changed directions to explore the philosophy of the Youth Hostel (YH) movement in Australia, the UK, and internationally as a member of the senior management team of Hostelling International, the International Youth Hostel Association.
He instigated and managed worldwide quality assurance and standard hostel programs and oversaw international training development.
Hartmut laid the foundation for a pan-European rollout of a chain of state-of-the-art backpacker hostels. He worked simultaneously on up to seven projects spanning several countries. He successfully concluded his assignment by developing brand standard manuals and the timely opening of prototype hostels in Copenhagen and Dublin.
As an independent management consultant, his clients ranged from luxury hotel developers, youth hostel associations, hostel developers, and operators to the leading worldwide hotel software company, international interior design firms, and FFE suppliers. In a consulting role, he continues cooperating with his global partners to review hotel chain performance.
In 1981, he landed in Australia with nothing but a backpack and a burning desire to prove himself; he spent a grueling year building his own house and dodging snakes in the outback. The house still stands, though Sydney has since caught up with it!
His friend Burkhard Herbote, a WTN Tourism Hero and a human encyclopedia for the tourism industry, met Hartmut in December 2011. Louis D’Amore, Founder of the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT), connected the two.
Burkhard recalled: “We met in my hometown with Max Haberstroh, also a Tourism Hero by the World Tourism Network. At the time, Hartmut was thinking about how he could meaningfully contribute to society after he retired and moved back to Germany and how best to leave a legacy for himself. Max and I were good conversation partners for this brainstorming session.”
Burkhard said that Hartmut always considered connecting winning and socially viable projects in global tourism. He looked at Ghana, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Haiti for such opportunities. He loved to support Corporate Social Responsibility projects (CSR).
@eturbonews Tourism Icon Hartmut Finke in Uganda #travelnews #Uganda ♬ original sound – TravelNewsGroup
“I am proud that I introduced him to the “Green Field Kinds Foundation” in Kabale, Uganda.”
Hartmut visited this school project. Many of the gorilla safaris depart from there.
The plan was to build a small, simple hotel for tourists visiting the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park or the Bwindi Impentrable Forest National Park.
Proceeds would go to the Green Field Kids Foundation.
“Until then, he had repeatedly donated food for the students and other needed items, such as kitchens, toilets, large rainwater collection containers, and roofs. Another visit to the project was planned for 2025.
“During his first visit, he also met my “goddaughter” Florence in Kampala to work with her on a business plan for the training we implemented at the Uganda Catholic Management and Training Institute.
“He just wanted to do something good and meaningful that fit his life profile. His goal was to plan and implement this in the last phase of his life. With friends, he founded the ‘Our World Project‘ as a platform for further projects, which was intended to create an interface with the tourism industry.
“Personal contact and personal meetings were significant to him even at times when increasing digitalization is a priority. During our discussions, including with other tourism consultants, the need for a neutral umbrella organization arose for the various segments of the private travel industry.
“The first framework was quickly defined—the ICTT International Chamber of Travel & Tourism.
“COVID-19 put the plans on hold. Hartmut invested a lot of time, love, and expertise in this project; he was one of the leading developers of this idea.
“Whether one should call it the “seventh sense,” the “third eye,” or simply intuition, Hartmut had an unexpected spiritual gift that sometimes unsettled him.
“We often philosophized about the meaning of life. He sometimes sat on the beach at his home, the island of Föhr, overlooking the wide North Sea, as he let his thoughts fly with the wind.”
“I hope that in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to launch the International Chamber of Travel & Tourism (ICTT) in his honor.
Burkhard concluded:
“I am very sad that my friend Hartmut is no longer there, but I am also very happy that I got to know him both as a professional and, above all, as a person.”
