Maldives holidays are embracing sustainability
21.07.2023 - 07:45
/ roughguides.com
Maldives holidays are known for providing all-out luxury and over-water opulence. But resorts are seeking ways to safeguard the future of these islands in increasingly innovative ways, and tackling sustainability head on.
It’s always struck me as odd that while travellers who head to the Maldives are generally motivated by a desire to spend a week or two in a palm-fringed paradise far from the UK’s damp skies, they often seek out destinations filled with reminders of the region they’re fleeing.
Palm-fringed beach and turquoise waters in the Maldives © Altug Galip/Shutterstock
These reminders are served by the growing number of architecturally-led resorts designed by famous architects from London, Paris or Berlin and wiped clean of any nods to the Indian Ocean, or by the concessions of celebrity-chef-led restaurants and sleek cocktail bars staffed by guest mixologists shipped over from New York or Hong Kong.
It’s also a sad fact – and I speak from experience – that all too often, the only Maldivians you’ll come across are the ones diligently picking your towels off bathroom floors and sculpting them into origami-like sculptures, or driving the buggies which ferry cocktail-clutching hotel guests from A to B. Luckily, change is afoot.
The current Maldivian president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, is pushing for the country’s resorts to not only employ more Maldivians, but to offer training schemes such as internships, whether it’s at senior management level, in resort’s marketing departments or in dive schools.
Poolside at Siyam World Mint Bar © Siyam World Maldives
After all, the best ambassadors for the Maldives are surely the ones who grew up here. One person who’s a firm believer in this theory is Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, founder of Sun Siyam Resorts, which operates five resorts in the Maldives. A proud Maldivian, Ahmed has launched various initiatives designed to provide Maldivians with more opportunities for employment in departments which were once – and still are — typically the preserve of foreigners.
Take Siyam World resort, which opened in October 2021. When it comes to the photographs selected by editors and tour operators keen to promote this particular resort, the spectacular shots showing the inflatable obstacle course (the world’s largest), which spell out the word Siyam in supersized, inflatable letters, inevitably hog the limelight.
Maldives holidays at Siyam World © Siyam World
But just as beautiful are the photos and videos produced by the in-house team, which show Maldivians exploring the island, flinging themselves down the slides attached to over-water villas and running down the beach waving Maldivian flags. And it’s not just for show. My scuba diving session on Siyam World isn’t just a first