Pullman Maldives Maamutaa - Luxury hotel - 5 tips to be an ecotourist

Hi all, I’m Amandine the Pullman Maldives Maamutaa Resident Marine biologist. Today I wanted to share with you 5 tips on how to be a responsible and respectful visitor of nature.

1 Behave like your mum is watching !

Take nothing but pictures, make memories, enjoy the moment but don’t touch please.
For your safety : Nature is beautiful but not always peaceful. Especially if you travel toward exotic destinations you might not know the fauna & flora … it might be wiser to keep hands for yourself! “Hoo look that cool coral !!!! Wait before you grab that animal because corals and jellyfish are related ! You won’t pock a tentacled creature so don’t touch its cousin… they share the same stinging cells in the family !”

For their safety: we are from different environment, than most of the organism we will encounter during our journeys, specially underwater. Organisms living below the surface might not be immune to what we carry on us cosmetics or natural substances. what can look like an innocent pet might not be harmless….it could easily break a protective layer and open scales or skin to bacteria…

2 Be prepared, well equiped !

Wear Lycra /rash-guard /diving suit …. clothes with high solar protection when you go in the water instead of sunscreen. Some sunscreen are toxic for the reef (corals are so cool they don’t need your sunscreen : they make their own, homemade).

Bonus: no need for renew appliance every hour 😉 unlike sunscreen once you put on lycra is efficient until you remove it!
Extra Bonus: lycra is less heavy in the luggage, do not risk to leak during the trip and never gets empty halfway though holiday

3 be a guest !

Remember that you are invited in that environment, you won’t break your best friend kitchen or leave trash on the sofa because the bin was nowhere to be seen…. Same here respect and share nature with everyone. Also you like untouched nature, well like most of us globetrotter so leave it as you found it!

4 Be a messenger!

Share your amazing experiences to everybody ! If people don’t know how cool and beautiful nature is they won’t care for it! So show them all! Don’t be shy take pictures, ask professional when you meet them or NGOs, or other sources… there are plenty of people willing to inform you and help you inform others!
Also now more than ever nature need tourism, people like you ! Sustainable tourism founds and drive conservation in so many places ! Green taxes, natural parks fees….
But not only, sometime science, conservation can rely on public for spotting of some animals and photo identification can come from tourists! So unleash that national
geographic reporter in you !

5 Make a difference!

When planing your travels value eco-certified business and companies that care. That way you are showing your support to their action and pushing on the right side of the balance ! No one is perfect but you know what; conservation might not need 10 perfect eco-travellers it might just need thousands of unperfected ones!