Six Senses Laamu, together with Blue Marine Foundation, have taken home the Gold Award for Wildlife and Nature Conservation at World Travel Market’s (WTM) Responsible Tourism Awards.

The award recognises the #ProtectMaldivesSeagrass campaign, which was jointly initiated by Six Senses Laamu’s Maldives Underwater Initiative and Blue Marine Foundation’s Resilient Reefs Project, with the aim of changing the perspective of seagrass in the Maldives tourism industry.

The campaign resulted in one quarter of resorts in the Maldives pledging to protect over 655,000sqm of seagrass, the equivalent of 90 football fields.

In addition, the campaign was officially endorsed by the Maldives’ tourism ministry, illustrating that seagrass and tourism can indeed coexist.

Diverse marine life, such as turtles, sharks, rays, and even seahorses can be found in the seagrass meadows surrounding Six Senses Laamu.

Six Senses Laamu is the first and one of the only two resorts in the pristine Laamu atoll. Most of the villas and facilities are built overwater, however beach villas and on-land dining are an option. All villas offer a sense of privacy and seclusion, with an amazing view to the ocean and Maldivian nature.

Six Senses Laamu offers a wide range of dining options, with cuisines from around the world, an ice cream parlour, an overwater wine cellar and a signature Chill Bar. Many activities, excursions and options are available for everyone to enjoy, both overwater and underwater, in addition to the Six Senses Spa.

Six Senses Laamu hosts one of the largest teams of marine biologists in the Maldives, the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI). Staff from Six Senses Laamu and its three partner NGOs: Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation and Olive Ridley Project work together under the banner of MUI and seek to lead the tourism industry in the Maldives with meaningful marine conservation efforts based on research, education and community outreach.

The WTM Responsible Tourism Awards recognises responsible tourism practices and initiatives that inspire others and are replicable across the travel and tourism industry. The award aims to showcase great examples of responsible tourism in practice so we can use them to educate others, including consumers, about what can be achieved and to challenge others to do as well or better.

The WTM World Responsible Tourism Awards are presented each year at WTM London, in front of an audience of 600 key influencers and decision makers. These awards are a centre piece of WTM Responsible Tourism Day – the biggest responsible tourism event globally.

Learn more about the campaign at www.protectmaldivesseagrass.com and show your support for the campaign on social media by using the hashtag #ProtectMaldivesSeagrass.