The Ritz-Carlton Maldives celebrated its first-year anniversary vibrantly on June 1, 2022. The luxury tourist resort located at Fari Islands, in the North Male’ Atoll is a 45-minute journey by speedboat or a 10-minute seaplane trip from Velana International Airport (VIA).
This idyllic, pristine and naturally aesthetic island is known for its white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons and beautiful coral reefs with abundant, rich and colorful marine life.
The guest villas in the Ritz-Carlton Maldives, range in size from one to three bedrooms and the services in the resort are complemented by the presence of designated island butlers for the guests.
Speaking about the resort’s achievements in commemoration of Ritz-Carlton’s anniversary, General Manager Renato De Oliveira noted that despite opening the tourist property amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the resort had an amazing and successful opening. “Since day one, the resort has been coveted as a top tourist property choice for travel agencies which in turn increased the business with travelers flocking in from various markets such as the Asian, European, USA and the Middle-East and beyond” he said.
The Ritz-Carlton has been recognized for its service standards and hospitality services by the Conde Nast since it was acknowledged on Conde Nast Traveler Hot List, Travel + Leisure’s It List and being recognized among Time Magazine’s 100 Greatest Places and as accolades at the AD’s 2021 Hotel Awards.
Standing out for its commitment towards ocean preservation, Ritz Carlton is the first Maldivian tourist resort to employ the use of drones for ocean research as well as the utilization of underwater drones to study and understand the marine life.
Back in May, the resort announced its very first resort-based conservation technology project using drones in the island nation. This came to fruition through a unique partnership with British PhD researcher Ms. Melissa Shciele, and the resort played an instrumental role in a government approved research program to develop drone methods to search for, “and quantify ocean plastics” in the island nation.
Ritz-Carlton’s initiative acted as a major support in image and data collection to monitor ocean pollution from plastics, as well as improve mapping data related to the health in the Indian Ocean.
The conservation team’s approach included identification of discarded fishing nets (ghost nets) that had been a major threat to wildlife from entanglement. The drones utilized in the program helped the conservation team to identity larger pieces of debris and were subsequently removed from the waters to ensure safety of marine life.
Through Ritz-Carlton’s Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment Program, guests were facilitated with the opportunity to join the research team and become an active part of the team’s research and its conservation efforts. Guests were made privy to the drone simulation training software, which allowed for the use of the drones to explore the latest scientific research.
Ritz-Carlton held a key fieldwork program at MaRHE, which is one of the project’s academic partner facilities in Faafu atoll known for hosting world-class university-level academic programs for local and international marine biology and environmental science students.
This program will effectively extend the plastic monitoring initiative across the island nation while building a baseline for the dynamics of pollution. In addition to this, the initiative will reportedly catalyze changes and adoption of policy and legislation towards environmental sustainability at local, national and international levels.
Ritz-Carlton’s Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment Programme is designed for adults and children led by marine naturalists while the program collaborates with world-renowned oceanographic explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer Jean-Michel Cousteau.
The program facilitates guests with exploration of ocean depths along with complimentary marine biology classes for the students aimed at creating interest among youngsters towards the ocean and its preservation at an early age.
Under the Ambassadors of Environment program, Ritz-Carlton carries out a plethora of conversation and preservation efforts which include the recently introduced coral regeneration initiative. Some of these activities include a Ceramics Workshop to create clay ceramic bases to attach to coral fragments which then will be planted in the house reef to form new reef patches which is carried out under Coral Ceramics Snorkel.
Other notable efforts by the Ritz-Carlton include “Eco Heroes” through which participants learn about living in harmony with nature and practical approaches towards promoting a truly sustainable lifestyle; “Wonders of Water” which includes a variety of science experiments and games to investigate the properties of water; “Cities Under the Sea Snorkel” and “Night Snorkel” with facilitates guests to join the naturalists on an adventure to discover the ocean during the night time.
The resort’s commitment towards environmental preservation and sustainability is not just exclusive to its various eco-centric initiatives but from the very get-go Ritz-Carlton has been an active advocate towards environmental protection.
This is evident in the resort’s strong policy of a selective approach in opting for pre-fabricated materials such as cross-laminated timber which were used for the construction of walls, roofs and columns of the resort’s structures. This ensured easy-assemblage and subsequent reduction of the utilization of heavy machinery in the construction process. The timber was brought to the resort island from sustainable forests in Europe.
Additionally, the resort features a great number of solar panels used to harness sustainable and renewable energy thereby dropping the usage of diesel-powered generators. The resort’s commitment towards environmental protection resulted in the reduction of 233,600 liters of diesel per year within the Maldivian gross fuel usage total.
There is no doubt that Ritz-Carlton is celebrating its first-year anniversary with full vibrancy and while being an active contributor towards environmental preservation. The resort’s efforts are nothing short of extraordinary and their commitment, dedication and perseverance echoes through the country’s tourism industry.
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