LUXURY MALDIVES FAMILY SUMMER HOLS

Luxury Maldives
Staying at the 5* Kurumba Maldives
Special offer: Half board for the price of B&B (this is a huge saving)
Flying from Dublin
7 nights only £1649 per adult
Child (up to 11 yrs old) from £849
Example departure date: 19 Aug 2019 (other dates possible just ask)

Kurumba Maldives is a stunning private island resort just a ten minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport. The resort offers a number of different styles of accommodation including bungalows and villas with private pool or Jacuzzi. With a selection of restaurants to choose from, Kurumba offers cuisine to suit every mood. Guests can dine alfresco whilst enjoying a sea view in Thila, watch chefs prepare teppanyaki and sushi in Hamakaze or delight in the aroma of spices that go hand-in-hand with the Middle Eastern specialities on offer in Al Qasr. Veli Spa allows guests to experience tranquillity and features treatments designed around traditional island techniques.
HOTEL FACILITIES ••• 8 restaurants • 3 bars • complimentary WiFi • shisha lounge • 2 pools • gym • spa • tennis • watersports • diving • 2 kids’ pools • kids’ club • activities programme • nightly entertainment ROOM FACILITIES ••• 180 rooms & villas • mini-bar • TV • air-con • tea & coffee making facilities • iron & ironing board
Speedboat transfers included.

Source: theholidayninja.com

TAJ EXOTICA MALDIVES ENTERS TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE HALL OF FAME

Taj Exotica Resort & Spa Maldives has been inducted into the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame. The resort was admitted into the Hall of Fame after having earned a Certificate of Excellence every year for the past five years. “A big thanks to our guests and the team,” the resort said, in an announcement.
Now in its ninth year, the Certificate of Excellence designation recognises establishments that consistently earn great reviews on TripAdvisor from travellers. It accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. Businesses that have received a Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years will qualify for the Hall of Fame.
A 15-minute speedboat ride from the Maldives main airport brings you to the idyllic resort of Taj Exotica, surrounded by the azure waters of the Indian Ocean. Set delicately over the lagoon, this postcard-perfect getaway offers 64 sea-view villas and suites that are luxurious and lavish, yet maintain a fine balance with nature. Featuring private sundecks and balconies, the large villas are decorated with fine wood furnishings and warm colours. The resort’s world-famous, award-winning presidential suite is, arguably, one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
Savour the best from the culinary world with carefully selected ingredients sourced both locally and globally to please your palate. Enjoy the freshest of seafood at Deep End or choose from the extensive carefully crafted menu at 24 Degrees, where you experience a performance of art assembled on your plate at the theatrical Teppanyaki kitchen. Sip leisurely on your cocktails at the Equator Bar as you take in the awe-inspiring views of fiery Indian Ocean sunsets.
A wide range of water sports, including diving, fishing and windsurfing are available at Taj Exotica. Alternatively, relax with soothing spa treatments at Jiva Grande Spa.

Source: maldives.net

Niyama Private Islands Maldives is certified Instagrammable

Niyama Private Islands Maldives has been recognized in Luxury Travel Adviser’s Most Instagrammable Hotel in the World 2019 competition, in which Niyama emerged champion in the Asia, Indian Ocean and Pacific Islands category.
Through four knockout rounds of the global competition, 41,000 votes were casted for Niyama in the regional finals, with the luxury resort beating Four Seasons Bali to take the top spot.
Luxury Travel Adviser is run by independent journalists for travel agents in the luxury segment. Travel aficionados from across the world casted their votes every week for their favourite designer destinations until a winner was crowned.
“This recognition reconfirms Niyama’s popularity with the travel elite, and I would like to thank the thousands of voters who chose the resort”, said Hafidh Busaidy, general manager of Niyama Private Islands Maldives.
The resort comprises two islands – Play and Chill. The latter is home to the Drift Spa, which uses local botanical and marine resources in its Maldivian healing experiences. Floating over the ocean on stilts, the spa features six over-water treatment rooms with lagoon views and two treatment spaces with private gardens, outdoor baths, rain showers and daybeds. Treatments are carried out with products by Anne Semonin, Intraceuticals, Aromatherapy Associates and Margaret Dabbs. The spa also offers salon services such as hair styling, manicures, and pedicures.

Source: middleeastbeauty.com

FAIRMONT MALDIVES SIRRU FEN FUSHI SCOOPS THE MALDIVES’ LEADING LUXURY RESORT AWARD AT THE WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS

Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi adds another distinctive award in its portfolio by bagging the Maldives’ Leading Luxury Island Resort award at the World Travel Awards red-carpet gala ceremony held in Mauritius.
Hailed as the 'Oscars of the travel industry', World Travel Awards celebrates its 26th anniversary this year and is recognized globally as the ultimate travel accolade. The World Travel Awards is given away to acknowledge and reward excellence in the travel and tourism industry across the globe. It covers a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognize and celebrate individual and collective success within each key geographical region.
Receiving the award on behalf of the resort was Iain McCormack, General Manager, Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi said, “We are extremely honored to have won this prestigious award that recognizes us in setting the benchmark to luxury hospitality in Maldives. With a renowned brand like Fairmont and a highly engaged and competitive team, our commitment and passion in turning moments into memories for our guests is at the core of our DNA. We look forward to using this award as an inspiration for our future success.”
Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi is the first Fairmont luxury brand of AccorHotels to an area celebrated for its pristine natural beauty. Located on the Shaviyani Atoll in North Maldives, the resort boasts one of the country’s largest resort lagoons, the stunning new property offers 120 luxury villas, each with a private pool. Sirru Fen Fushi, which means 'secret water island' in the local Dhivehi language, is set on an exceptionally lush island bursting with flora and fauna.

Source: thearrival.mv

Finolhu resort sold for US$ 90 mill. to European company

Finolhu Maldives Resort being operated in Baa atoll has been sold to Germany’s Seaside Hotels company for US$ 90 million.

The sale of the resort developed by Coastline Hotels and Resorts Pvt., the same company that developed Amillafushi Resort, was formalized during April. Renowned consultancy firm JLL Hotels and Hospitality, who acted as a broker in the sale said the transaction is the first instance where a European company bought a Maldivian resort through the firm. Seaside Hotels currently operates 10 resorts in different parts of the world.

It is common practice for companies to develop resorts in the Maldives and sell it off at high prices. The initial investment used to develop the resort is usually recovered within seven to ten years of operation. Recently, Randheli Resort in Noonu atoll was sold off in a similar fashion.

Source: https://avas.mv/en/64618

3D printing innovation to help coral development in Maldives

3D printing innovation to help coral development in Maldives

Moulds were slotted together underwater, like a giant aquatic LEGO set, to create the new reef.

The world’s largest and the Maldives first 3D-printed reef was installed by a resort at the weekend, with the technology being used to help protect coral reefs.

The artificial reef, assembled with hundreds of ceramic and concrete modules, was submerged in seven metres of water in a part of the lagoon where Summer Island Maldives  is building a new coral reef ecosystem.

Coral reefs are under threat from climate change. In 2016 a particularly strong El Nino weather event, which caused sea temperatures to spike, devastated coral reefs across large parts of the Maldives. Climate change makes these coral ‘bleaching’ events increasingly likely and severe.

The project started in Australia, where industrial designer Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab used computing modelling to design reef structures similar to those found naturally in the Maldives.

A 3D printer took 24 hours to print moulds which were then cast in ceramic, an inert substance similar to limestone rock, and shipped to the Maldives. They were filled with marine concrete on the resort’s beach before being taken into the lagoon and assembled.

Like a giant aquatic LEGO set the 220 ceramic, concrete-filled moulds were slotted together underwater to create the new reef.

Coral fragments, grown on the resort’s existing and extensive coral nursery, were transplanted onto the 3D reef. In a few years, when the corals have colonised the reef, the resort wants a new reef teeming with fish and other marine life.

If the 3D printing technology proves successful, it could be a new way of helping coral reefs adapt to a warming climate.

“This is a science project, it’s a research project,” said Alex Goad. “3D printing technology helps us to mimic the complexity of natural reef structures, so we can design artificial reefs that closely resemble those found in nature.”

Goad will make his modular 3D designs open source, so other researchers in the Maldives can benefit from them without having to pay a licence fee.

The resort aims to study the reef with the help of marine biologists over the next few years, to see if the 3D version is better at encouraging coral growth than existing methods of artificially growing corals, such as with steel frames.

It has also introduced other environmental initiatives including the adoption of solar energy, a ban plastic straw usage and phasing out imported drinking water.

Resort manager Mari Shareef said these policies were popular among guests and staff.

“We want to help promote a culture of environmental stewardship, not just at Summer Island, but across the Maldives,” she said.

UK explorers support tourism figures in Maldives

UK explorers support tourism figures in Maldives

Latest figures from the Maldives show that the destination saw an 11.2 per cent increase in the number of UK travellers who visited in the first six months of 2018, when compared with the same period in 2017.

In total, 57,535 UK tourists arrived in the Maldives from January – June 2018, compared with 51,737 in 2017.

June itself also welcomed a 6.2 per cent growth in the number of UK tourist arrivals, when compared with the same month in 2017.

Overall, 6,459 travellers from the UK visited the Maldives in June 2018, compared with 6,081 in June 2017, accounting for 6.9 per cent of all tourist arrivals to the Maldives and therefore representing the third largest inbound market for arrivals globally, after China (17.5 per cent) and Germany (eight per cent), respectively.

With regards to total worldwide arrivals, 93,786 travellers visited the Maldives in June 2018 and this represents an increase of ten per cent when compared with June 2017, which welcomed 85,222.

The first six months of 2018 have seen 726,515 global tourists visit the Maldives, an increase of 10.5 per cent when compared with the same period of last year.

This year the Maldives will further confirm its status as one of the most attractive holiday destinations for UK tourists, with the opening of at least 23 new resorts.

The island nation was also recently crowned as the Indian Ocean’s Best Spa Destination at the World Spa Awards.

Commenting on the increase of tourist arrivals, the Maldives minister of tourism, Moosa Zameer, said: “We are once again very pleased to see a notable increase in the number of UK and worldwide arrivals to the Maldives.

“The increase is testament to the country’s world-class tourism industry and with several exciting developments planned for the remaining months of 2018 and into 2019, including the opening of a number of resorts, we look forward to welcoming even more UK tourists to our shores.”

Voters asked to make voices heard in front of World Spa Awards

Voters asked to make voices heard in front of World Spa Awards

Voting for World Spa Awards – the global initiative to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence in the spa and wellness sector – closes on August 17th, 2018.

Spa industry professionals – senior executives, travel buyers, tour operators and media – along with spa consumers, are invited to cast their votes to decide which spa organisations are the leaders in their field.

Voting takes place across the whole spectrum of the global spa industry with categories including Best Hotel Spa, Best Spa Design and Best Spa Destination.

The winners will be invited to attend the 2018 World Spa Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place at The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort on October 26th.

Hundreds of industry leaders from around the world are scheduled to attend the spa tourism event of the year.

Unrivalled luxury, stunning beaches, an amazing underwater world, as well as spectacular spa and wellness offerings, make the Maldives the destination of choice for World Spa Awards.

A spectacular 40-minute seaplane flight from Malé International Airport, The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort promises an unrivalled private island escape in the southern Dhaalu Atoll.

An eco-conscious design draws on island-inspired style and contemporary architectural elements, villas come with private plunge pools.

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort is home to the unique lobster-shaped Iridium Spa, which is the largest overwater spa in the Maldives, making it the perfect venue to celebrate the brilliance of the global spa industry.

Launched in 2015, World Spa Awards is a dynamic awards programme designed to drive up standards within spa and wellness tourism, by rewarding the organisations that are the leaders in the field.

Event partners for the fourth annual World Spa Awards include The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, Visit Maldives, Trans Maldivian Airways and Bastien Gonzalez.

World Spa Awards is the sister event to World Travel Awards, currently celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Maldives populace to almost a million by 2054

Maldives populace to almost a million by 2054

The population projection means there will be twice as many people living in the Maldives.

The Maldives population is expected to reach almost one million by 2054, with more than half of the country’s nationals living in the Greater Malé area, a United Nations report published Wednesday said.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) also said the 2054 population figure would consist of 57 percent Maldivians and 43 percent foreigners.

Its overall population projection of 974,359 means there will be twice as many people living in the Maldives, according to the report.

Another key finding says that many of the bigger atolls will lose close to one-third of their population due to internal migration and a declining fertility rate, whereas the 2014 census showed that the majority of the population was living in the atolls.

The Maldives will also have 75 elderly people to every 100 children compared to 17 per 100 in 2014 and, while the child population currently accounts for 28 percent, it drops to 18 percent by the end of the projection period.

“The time has come for the Maldives to highlight population and development issues within the overall socio-economic development strategy of the country,” said the report.

“To do so, it will be necessary to reinforce the institutions dealing with population and development issues, especially those located in the President’s Office including the Economic and Youth Council and the Social Council.”

There was a continued need for affordable housing schemes in order to help people relocate to Greater Malé, better mechanisms to deal with the ageing population and greater emphasis on female education, said the report.