Posted by: Editor on Nov 15, 2007 – 11:55 AM
newsandinfo The Reef Atlantis – a 22-storey, 497-room tower – is set to open its doors this December, on deadline, and is being billed as an entirely new way to experience Atlantis – beachside.
Sol Kerzner, the man who built the mystical themed resort – Atlantis on Paradise Island – has come up with another unique experience for guests at the regal property that has earned an enviable reputation around the world.
The Reef Atlantis – a 22-storey, 497-room tower – is set to open its doors this December, on deadline, and is being billed as an entirely new way to experience Atlantis – beachside.
It is located directly on Paradise Beach and will become the latest finished piece of a complex economic puzzle for The Bahamas driven by the Kerzner vision.
The tower is anticipated to be the main driver of an important new concept in consumer travel called Blue Tourism, offering guests the chance to interact with and support the ocean through a combination of ocean-based experiences and conservation programmes, according to officials.
Chairman and CEO of Kerzner International Sol Kerzner said the concept of Blue Tourism was conceived as a way of giving back to the ocean and the community in which the resort operates.
“This development at Atlantis is a great representation of the ideals and goals at Kerzner,” he was quoted as saying.
Earlier this year scientists funded by the Kerzner Marine Foundation uncovered two new species of coral living off the coast of Oman, and garnered valuable research about reef environments, which is insightful to learning about the survival of reef formations throughout the world, officials said.
Through the combined efforts of the Kerzner Marine Foundation, The Bahamas National Trust and the Nature Conservancy, the Blue Project is expected to offer the funding to complete reef refurbishment efforts around New Providence and Paradise Island as well as support the upkeep of these protected areas.
The plan is for guests at The Reef Atlantis to be able to visit the sites as Adventure Planners provide a direct connection for them to all of the Blue Tourism elements offered throughout the resort including Blue Tours – snorkel and dive trips to healthy and endangered reef sites.
Without the support of the programme, within 40 years, 70 percent of these coral reefs and much of the marine life they are home to would be gone. Plans are in the pipeline to eventually extend the projects efforts to other endangered coral reef systems around the world.
“We are really proud to bring this project to The Bahamas and feel that it is a natural extension of the conservation and education programs for which Atlantis is known,” noted Mr. Kerzner. “After all, it is quite logical for a destination resort that is built around the ocean to care about the ocean.”
Many people are worried that there are ecological implications to the continued destruction of coral reefs as they are home to more kinds of life than any other marine environment. Bahamian coral reefs are home to some of the worlds most colorful and diverse life- forms including fish, hard and soft corals, sponges, jellyfish, anemones, snails, rays, crabs, moray eels, lobsters, sea turtles, dolphins, and seabirds.
Many of these coral reefs are now threatened due to a combination of impacts. Ten percent of the planets reefs already have been degraded beyond recovery, and another 60 percent could die by 2050, primarily because of human activities, such as pollution, over fishing and climate change.
The situation is particularly acute in the island nations of the Caribbean, which have seen an 80 percent decline in coral cover in recent decades.
Funding for The Blue Project is intended to come from the sales of partner products and services and proceeds will go to identification and regeneration of distressed coral reefs in The Bahamas.
The project is expected to facilitate funding to identify, restore and patrol coral reefs in need of attention; finance the creation of a coral propagation laboratory on Paradise Island and fund ongoing research, education programmes.
Marketed originally as the Residences at Atlantis, the 22-storey Reef Atlantis will offer condo-style accommodation. Earlier in the year Kerzner opened The Cove, a 600-room resort that sits at the heart of its billion-dollar phase III expansion.
Bahamas tourism officials have recognized the Kerzner Internationals worth to the industry and the potential it has to further drive economic growth in The Bahamas, along with other mega hotel and resort properties around the country.
Kerzner International is the largest private sector employer in The Bahamas.
Source: The Bahama Journal