Heart of CCR

The quintessential Maldives environment of pristine beaches, crystal clear lagoons, lush vegetation and a thriving coral reef ecosystem, coupled with luxury resorts, are the ingredients of a perfect holiday for many travellers. With environmental issues at the forefront of global concern, more and more people are citing eco-friendliness as a consideration when choosing a resort.

At Crown and Champa Resorts we place high importance on protecting the natural environment for future generations and constantly strive to reduce the impact our resorts have on the environment. As a testament to our sustainable approach, all our resorts have achieved the Travelife Gold Award. Travelife is dedicated to making holidays more sustainable and looks not only at the green choices resorts make but also the work they do with the local community.

The jewel in our sustainability crown is Kudadoo Maldives Private Island by Hurawalhi. Opened in December 2018, it was not only designed and built from sustainable materials, its operations are fully solar-powered. In a country where the sun shines almost every day, it makes environmental sense to harness its power and Hurawalhi Island Resort, Kuredu Island Resort & Spa, Innahura Maldives Resort and Meeru Island Resort & Spa are doing exactly that to meet some of their electricity requirements.

Our desalination and water bottling plants provide each of our resorts with all the water they need, served in re-useable glass bottles, it saves an immense amount of single-use plastic water bottles from entering the environment.

Each department in our resorts plays its part in sustainability: the laundry and housekeeping departments use eco-friendly detergents and re-useable linen bags for laundry collection, with drying taking place naturally. Food and beverage teams source ingredients locally where possible, to support the local community and reduce pollution-related to transporting goods further than necessary – our guests benefit directly from having fresh local produce on the menu. We have teams of gardeners planting trees on our islands and putting their green fingers to use in the greenhouses to grow fruit, vegetables and salad items on site. In the bars, guests will find only environmentally friendly straws when enjoying their drinks.

The marine environment is one of the Maldives’ greatest treasure and regular reef and lagoon clean-ups are organised to help look after the underwater world. Marine Biology Centres located at some of our resorts offer not only education to the rest of our team and guests, they also run sessions for local school children, oversee coral reef regeneration programs and research the populations of manta rays and sea turtles. Worldwide, mantas are listed as a vulnerable species and turtles are endangered, but here in the Maldives, we are very fortunate to have healthy populations of these fascinating marine creatures.

There are many more sustainable practices running through our resorts in the Maldives and they can be found in detail in our Sustainability Report.

If you love the Maldives and love the environment choose a Crown and Champa Resort for your next tropical escape.

From its humble beginnings in 1972, with only two resorts, the tourism industry in the Maldives has grown in leaps and bounds. Now, with every new opening, we are seeing innovative solutions and extraordinary experiences that push the envelope of hospitality. September marks the day when World Tourism Day is celebrated. This year, the theme is ‘Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future For All’.

Globally, the tourism sector is a significant source of employment, accounting for one in ten jobs, due to the labour-intensive nature of tourism. Tourism is also a major driver of global economic growth. This rings true for the Maldives, with tourism contributing to 23% of the country’s GDP. The World Bank predicts that tourism will continue to be the main driver of economic growth for the Maldives.

As we reflect on the role that the tourism industry plays, we are also considering how Crown & Champa Resorts contributes to the sector. Specifically, the quality of jobs we are creating and how inclusive we are in that process. With over 3,000 team members in our employ and more job opportunities becoming available due to our expanding property portfolio, we are continuing to empower more people by offering competitive salaries and a variety of benefits.

With the growth of the tourism industry, now more than ever, we are conscious of sustainable tourism. Beyond the environmental-friendly measures we have implemented across all our properties, we regularly take part in awareness campaigns. Most recently, our properties organised World Clean Up Day activities and rallied the support of guests and team members in cleaning up neighbouring islands.

Crown & Champa Resorts remains committed to creating livelihoods and taking care of this beautiful country we operate in.

We are grateful to you for choosing Crown & Champa Resorts as your preferred choice in the Maldives. We look forward to welcoming you to our properties in the coming days.

Sincerely,

Martin Vossen

Chief Executive Officer

Every year on June 5, the world comes together to celebrate World Environment Day. This year, the theme for this special day is #BeatAirPollution, bolstered by a campaign that seeks to ensure everyone has access to clean air. United Nations Environment estimates that 9 out of 10 people across the world breathe polluted air. There are five main human causes of air pollution, namely, household indoor burning of fuels, industries, agriculture, transport and waste.

As Crown & Champa Resorts, our efforts in taking care of the environment are guided by our Sustainability Report. We are studiously committed to carrying out our operations in ways that ensure minimal harm to the environment. In relation to combatting air pollution, we encourage our guests and staff to avoid food wastage. Organic waste such as food and plants emit methane, which contributes to ground-level ozone that causes respiratory diseases. Most importantly, we continue to implement cleaner, alternative sources of energy, such as solar, to reduce our reliance on fuels.

Our other environmentally friendly initiatives include water bottling plants that reduce plastic consumption, greenhouses, desalination systems, food and water recycling facilities and frequent island, reef and lagoon cleaning projects. In most of our properties, we have implemented eco-friendly straws and bottles to reduce the use of single-use plastics. Read more about our sustainability measures here.

Taking care of the environment is a collective effort that is crucial to the survival of the human population. We urge you to also play your part in ensuring that the world is a better place. Simple measures such as cycling to work, serving smaller portions of food and separating your waste, can go a long way in reducing air pollution. Together, we can work towards beating all kinds of pollution across the world.

On May 23, 2019, the world observes World Turtle Day. This is an annual observance that is marked to celebrate and create awareness on the need for the protection of turtles from their disappearing habitats across the world. In the Maldives, the tropical waters are home to many of the seven species of sea turtles. Guests travel from far and wide to explore the sea in search of these wonderful creatures.

Across our properties, there are opportunities to spot sea turtles. Green Sea Turtles can be frequently observed in Kuredu Island Resort & Spa, where there is seagrass aplenty. In neighbouring Komandoo Island Resort & Spa’s house reef, you are likely to eye Green Sea Turtles as well as Hawksbill Sea Turtles. Turtle Reef, a dive site just off Innahura Maldives Resort, is the location where 48 Hawksbill Sea Turtles were spotted in a single dive! In the south, Loggerhead Sea Turtles and Leatherback Turtles have been spotted in the South Ari Atoll waters where Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa is located. Most of our resorts have excursions that allow you to hopefully spot these gentle creatures.

Though turtles have existed more than 100 million years, outliving dinosaurs, they are rapidly disappearing. Sea turtles, in particular face several threats from plastic pollution to the destruction of feeding and nesting sites. Plastic bags can be mistaken for food and when ingested, potentially lead to death by blocking the sea turtle’s intestines.

As part of our Sustainability Plan, we are committed to having a minimal operational impact on the environment within which our resorts operate. This means taking care of the natural environment to ensure that sea turtles and other marine life do not lose their homes. Secondly, we also create awareness throughout our resorts on avoiding plastic pollution and respecting marine life.

Read our sustainability plan here and more about sea turtles here.

Happy World Turtle Day!