Veligandu Island Resort and Spa has been awarded the prestigious Travelife Gold Award 2018 for sustainability in tourism.
The award accentuates the resort’s dedication to environmental sustainability, as well as meaningful contributions within the local communities of the Maldives.
Achieving the award is no easy feat. Travelife, which is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, awards hotels and accommodations that meet the requirements after extensive assessments with over 150 sustainability criteria.
Veligandu’s continuous improvements, including various improvements to reduce plastic use, have contributed to attaining the award.
Fathuhulla Ibrahim, General Manager at Veligandu, shared exciting information about the progress of the campaigns, where the resort has reduced plastic use by 20,000 bottles in 2018. Other impressive figures include: 74 percent of bottles on the island are glass bottles and use of plastic bottles has been reduced to 26 percent with a target of 10 percent by the end of the year.
Last year, the resort received the Travelife Champions Award, which emphasises continuous support of the local community, and in 2016, won the same Travelife Gold Award for sustainability in tourism.
Veligandu, surrounded by a beautiful lagoon and a long stretch of white sandy beach, is the only resort on the island of Veligandu in North Ari Atoll. The resort, which is accessible by a scenic 20-minute seaplane flight from the main Velana International Airport, has 91 rooms, including 54 Jacuzzi Water Villas, 10 Water Villas, 16 Jacuzzi Beach Villas and 11 Beach Villas.