Club Med, a pioneer in premium all-inclusive holidays with a responsible vision, believes in eco-friendly holidays and has shown the way towards sustainable tourism through its offerings.
In the current scheme of things, experts predict that responsible travel may emerge as a strong trend post the global COVID-19 crisis. Travellers are likely to lean towards destinations and hotels that are more conscious in their approach. Close to 80 per cent of Club Med resorts being Green Globe certified, a fulfilling Club Med experience is never at the expense of nature. Initiatives such as Bye-Bye Plastic, building resorts that blend in harmoniously in scenic sites, allowing people to rejuvenate through contact with nature, being vigilant with energy and water savings, promoting renewable energy sources and controlling the water treatment and recycling techniques reflect the core brand values of sustainability at Club Med.
At various Club Med resorts, a full range of activities and eco trails allow guests to discover the exceptional natural resources of the destinations. For instance, Club Med’s resorts in the Alps have unique flora and fauna mountain hikes while Club Med’s first Eco-Nature Resort in Malaysia, Club Med Cherating and Club Med Bintan offer responsible vacation goers some downtime and privileged contact with the natural environment. The eco-adventures include nature walks in the jungle, Mangrove River Cruise and quad biking through the mangroves. Additionally, both resorts have a Turtle Hatching experience of watching baby turtles give birth and undertake their journey to the ocean and a Firefly observation session with a local naturalist surrounded by hundreds of the glowing winged beetles. Cherating resort’s natural site provides a home for macaque monkeys and many more tropical species while Bintan guests can hop on an Ecoholic catamaran, a solar powered luxury eco yacht for an unforgettable sunset or day cruise experience.
Furthermore, Club Med undertakes coral reef preservation in the Maldives and has constructed an artificial reef at Club Med Kani and a fish refuge at The Finolhu Villas to help protect the country’s ocean biodiversity. Club Med Kani offers a ‘Mobireef Underwater Trail’ to uncover the magic of the sea through a snorkelling tour guided by a marine biologist to create a fun yet educational underwater trail, the only one of its kind in the Maldives. Guests staying at the resort can also create their very own coral habitat for marine life. One can choose the size of the coral frame, attach coral of their choice, and place it in the sea to begin a new reef for marine life. It doesn’t just end here; guests can then follow the evolution of their coral with photos posted regularly on partner Reefscapers’ dedicated online platform.
Being a pioneer in childcare and kids clubs, most Club Med resorts offer the ‘Clean Art Planet’ workshop where G.Os help children create works of art from plastic objects collected through ‘clean-up the beach’ operations, a creative way of triggering awareness and commitment to positive action among kids.
Club Med trains more than 15,000 G.O.s each year on sustainability to help preserve the environment who in turn encourage guests to adopt an eco-friendly mindset throughout their stay with Club Med. Reinforcing this idea, the brand has developed an app called ‘Club Med Play’, for guests to discover natural and cultural treasures of some of the resorts and learn what the G.O and G.E team do every day to protect it.
