Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort and UNDP Maldives has entered into a partnership to work towards achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
An agreement was signed on Monday by Shoko Noda, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives, and Jesus Perez Bustamante, Cluster General Manager for Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort.
In a statement, UNDP said it will work with Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort towards assisting the local communities near the island of Kooddoo, which houses the resort, to create sustainable localised solutions to local problems. The partnership will also involve education to assist local communities and stakeholders to achieve the SDGs, it added.
“This will enable the local community to achieve important progress and set the stage to build an strong and sustainable community through support of the collaborative partnership,” Jesus Perez Bustamante, who thanked UNDP Maldives for the cooperation, was quoted in the statement, as saying.
The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals set by the UN. The broad goals are interrelated though each has its own targets to achieve. The total number of targets is 169. The SDGs cover a broad range of social and economic development issues, including poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment and social justice.
UNDP has earlier signed a similar agreement with Soneva Fushi.
Managed by AccorHotels, Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort welcomed the first group of guests in August.
The four-star resort, developed on the island of Kooddoo in Gaafu Alif atoll, boasts 68 stylish and well-appointed villas, comprising 43 overwater villas and 25 beach villas with 20 of them featuring a private swimming pool. Attesting to the Mercure brand promise of an authentic experience, vivid colours and decorative motifs along with warm textures and local design touches are used tastefully throughout the villas in order to create a haven of peace with a strong local character.
Guests are offered several attractive dining options. The all-day dining Alita Restaurant serves Pan-Asian à la carte cuisine and themed buffets, with both indoor and outdoor seating. Vistas, an overwater restaurant and lounge, serves tapas, snacks and handcrafted cocktails, while the Alita Pool Bar offers cocktails and light bites with a view.
Suvadiva Divers, the resort’s five-star PADI dive and water sports centre, provides aquatic excursions to the many unique and wonderful locations nearby. Several water sports options such as snorkelling, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, catamarans, jet skis and fun tubes are also available.
Additionally, the resort has several recreational activities and facilities such as the 50-metre lagoon-side swimming pool, fully equipped fitness centre, tennis court, kids’ club and off-island day trips. The marine-themed Suvadiva Spa at Mercure Maldives Kooddoo, meanwhile, offers a range of treatments and therapies for guests in need of relaxation and rejuvenation.
Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort is the only resort in the Maldives directly accessible via domestic flight from the main Velana International Airport, with no need for an additional speedboat transfer. The domestic plane transfer to Kooddoo, which also houses a fish processing plant, takes about 55 minutes.
A newcomer to the Maldives booming tourism industry, AccorHotels is on a major expansion drive with two existing properties and another two under development in the island nation.
Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort is the first property to be run in the Maldives by the French multinational hotel chain. The company has since taken over the management of Dhevanafushi from Dubai-based hospitality group Jumeirah, with plans to reposition the luxury resort under the iconic Raffles Hotels and Resorts brand.
AccorHotels is also gearing up for the opening in December of Sirru Fen Fushi, a brand new luxury resort in the northern Shaviyani atoll, with plans to later reposition it under the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts brand.
The company has also signed up to manage another resort being developed in Gaafu Alif atoll.
Set to open next year, the Pullman Maldives Maamutaa resort is a traditional ‘one island, one resort’ property located a 10-minute speedboat ride away from its sister property, the Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort. The five star resort will offer upscale modern facilities such as two swimming pools, a sunset bar overlooking the lagoon, a luxury spa, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, a kids club, beach playground, tennis courts, gourmet restaurants, organic gardens, a dive centre and a water sports centre.