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Mingozzi takes up culinary administration of Kanuhura, Maldives

Chef Michele Mingozzi has joined Kanuhura, Maldives, with strong international experience and reputation, having worked in numerous remarkable fine-dining establishments around the world.

His experience includes time at two- and three-Michelin star restaurants in Italy, Germany and London.

His passion for food and flavour took him to the Philippines, the Middle East, Singapore and Fiji, where he headed the kitchen for the celebrated Laucala Island Resort, owned by Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner and founder of Red Bull.

Taking over the culinary reign at Kanuhura, Maldives, chef Mingozzi will be responsible for the resort’s eight dining outlets as well as numerous destination and special dining locations and experiences. Chef Michele will focus on high-quality, fresh food blended with Maldivian food culture with worldwide food traditions.

Comprising three main restaurants, the culinary concept at Kanuhura Maldives aims to add value to the guests’ dining experiences by implementing diverse, smaller dining outlets in different locations set across the island, including the Chef’s Herb Garden where guests can pick fresh ingredients and cook alongside the culinary team while dining under the stars at a ‘secret’ table surrounded by flickering candles at the heart of a gorgeously lush and aromatic herb garden.

Key sushi dishes from the innovative Sushi Swing Bar menu include the sumptuous Champagne Yuzu Lobster roll, Truffle Creamy Lobster Tempura roll and the Waygu Beef roll.

Locally sourced tuna is used in the menu, as well as reef fish whenever possible.

Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort to open in December

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Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort About to open in December

Marriott International has announced the forthcoming debut of Westin Hotels & Resorts in the Maldives with the opening of the Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort in October.

The resort is set to herald the Westin brand’s wellness positioning in the Maldivian oasis.

Nestled on a beautiful coral island in the Baa Atoll, a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve site, the Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort will feature 70 villas and suites, 41 on island and 29 overwaters.

Poised over the sea on stilts and with an area of almost 200 square meters each, the overwater suites are amongst the largest a resort has to offer in the Baa Atoll region.

Assembled by award-winning Milan-based architects Peia Associates, the resort’s design takes inspiration from the ocean with a visionary approach towards environmental sustainability.

The dining options include three resort restaurants and a rooftop bar.

The all-day dining experience at Island Kitchen stays true to the Westin brand’s ‘eat well’ pillar through a thoughtful menu combining Chinese, Indian and Maldivian fare.

The Pearl is the resort’s specialty restaurant and is the ideal venue to indulge in exquisite Japanese cuisine in an elegant setting with exceptional ocean views.

At Hawker, guests can sample authentic Asian food in a casual and buzzing restaurant and bar with a live kitchen.

The Sunset Bar is a relaxed lounge serving tapas and imaginative cocktails created by talented mixologists.

3D printing innovation to help coral development in Maldives

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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

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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

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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.