Bridge & Wickers’ Africa man Roger Diski dies
Wednesday, 25 Feb, 2011
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Former managing director of Rainbow Tours Roger Diski has died.
Diski was swept out to sea while taking a swim at a quiet beach in Sierra Leone earlier this week. He was 61.
Diski was a well-known figure in the travel industry, having set up Rainbow Tours in 1997 as a way of bringing British ANC supporters to Africa to visit projects and understand more about the movement.
He later sold the company and joined Bridge & Wickers to help develop its Africa programme.
He was a tireless campaigner for sustainable tourism and chaired AITO’s Sustainable Tourism Committee. He was also a trustee of the charity Tourism Concern.
Friend and colleague AITO chairman Derek Moore said: “The many of us who knew him, through his work with AITO, Rainbow Tours and, more recently, Bridge and Wickers, will find his passing a tremendous loss. He was such a larger-than-life character, so full of fun, with an easy smile and irreverence which hid a heart committed to working for everything he believed in, and he seemed indestructible.
“Roger, in my view, represented so vividly all that AITO was about – the ethos, the beliefs, and the fun of being in the travel business. Roger was a stalwart of the Sustainable Tourism Committee for many years and was at the forefront of environmental matters.
“Our thoughts are with Roger’s wife Judith and his children at this very difficult time.”
“Roger, in my view, represented so vividly all that AITO was about – the ethos, the beliefs, and the fun of being in the travel business. Roger was a stalwart of the Sustainable Tourism Committee for many years and was at the forefront of environmental matters.
“Our thoughts are with Roger’s wife Judith and his children at this very difficult time.”
Bridge & Wickers’ joint managing directot David Wickers added: "I am devastated to learn of Roger’s death and feel a double sense of loss. As well as being a business colleague who, with his wife Judith, created our new Africa programme, Roger was a friend, a relationship that I know would have become increasingly deep and meaningful to me as the years went on. I already miss him terribly and keep waking up imagining the news to have been a terrible dream."
Those wishing to express their thoughts to his family are asked to email [email protected] or write to 58 Huddleston Road, N7 0AG. It is requested that no flowers be sent.
Travelmole sends its condolences to the family.
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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