Sun Island Shines As Maldives Leading Green Resort At World Travel Awards
Tuesday 18th of October 2022
The eco-luxury resort of Villa Hotels & Resorts, Sun Island Resort & Spa is in high spirits after bagging the title of Maldives Leading Green Resort in the Indian Ocean at the World Travel Awards. The 29 edition of the awards took place in a glittering gala ceremony at Nairobi, Kenya and is widely acclaimed in the tourism industry as the hallmark of excellence.
Receiving global recognition at the prestigious awards and especially winning an environmental accolade reaffirms Sun Island’s sustainable lifestyle and forward thinking environmental and ocean initiatives which made them a leader in the sustainability front of tourism.
Spanning a length of 1.6km, Sun Island is one of the biggest resorts in the country tucked away in South Ari Atoll. With white-powder beaches and swaying coconut palms, the resort lies in the vicinity of the South Ari Marine Protected Area (SAMPA). Home to a budding ecosystem, Sun Island merges eco barefoot living with care for nature, creating abundance of possibilities to reconnect and harmonize with the lush green settings. To top it all, it offers guests the unprecedented privacy to exist in sync with the tropical surroundings.
Over 2,400 solar panels are installed at the resort, generating clean solar energy and drastically reducing the carbon footprint of the resort. Moreover, the resort also cultivates its own organic vegetables and herbs in thriving botanical gardens which are harvested and served across the many restaurants in the island. Furthermore, the plentiful amount of foliage at Sun Island supports rare migratory birds who take shelter in the green canopies of trees. Apart from this, the resort has also eliminated single-use plastic, promotes recycling and other sustainable practices at its shores.
Its route to carbon neutrality aligns perfectly with the Green-Key certification and is now being recognized on many international levels. This is evident from the fact that the resort has recently managed to win Leading Sustainable Honeymoon Resort in the Marie Claire UK Sustainability awards and now the WTA.
General Manager at Sun Island, Abdulla Fathhey commented “The fertile environment we have now at Sun Island is a result of the previous generations. It is very important that when we plant a seed, we should not expect immediate benefits. Rather we must think about planting for the future generation, which will contribute towards a sustainable environment and help reduce the carbon footprint long term. It is our responsibility to educate the younger generation and highlight the importance of taking care of the natural environment for the future of Maldives and our planet”.
