Press Release - May 2019
Kind Traveler Launches Manta Ray Conservation Initiative with Manta Trust & Maldivian Resorts in Response to UN’s Recent Species Extinction Threat Report
LOS ANGELES – In response to the May 6 release of an unprecedented report from the United Nations stating 1M species are threatened with extinction, and World Oceans Day approaching on June 8, it’s never been more important for global action and education initiatives for ecological solidarity with other living species to take place. As leaders in sustainable tourism, Kudadoo Private Island & Hurawalhi Island Resort in the Maldives, Manta Trust, Kind Traveler, and NBC’s This Is Us Star & PADI Scuba Diver, Jon Huertas, join forces to empower travelers to support manta ray conservation initiatives in the Maldives, home to the largest manta population in the world and arguably some of the most threatened fish in our seas.
The traveler-facing initiative unfolds as Kudadoo Private Island (recently named on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2019 Hot List) & Hurawalhi Island Resort join Kind Traveler, the first socially conscious 'Give + Get' hotel booking platform that empowers travelers to become a force for good benefiting communities, the environment, and animals. With a $10 nightly donation to Manta Trust on Kind Traveler, the Maldivian resorts are rewarding travelers with special rates at Hurawalhi island Resort and/or Kudadoo Private Island as way to easily support conservation efforts around manta rays, their
relatives, and their habitats. 100 percent of the donation goes to Manta Trust, creating a triple-win amongst the traveler, charity, and hotel.
Jon Huertas, Kind Traveler’s traveling ambassador, will be visiting the resorts and will go on scuba diving excursions with Manta Trust to report daily via social media on the conservation efforts of both properties and Manta Trust, starting on May 28, encouraging travelers to take part in sustainable travel and manta conservation, leading up to World Oceans Day on June 8.
Huertas shares, “in the aftermath of the recently released UN biodiversity report, it’s more important to me than ever to raise awareness about the threat of extinction of so many ocean species and provide actionable ways to live in harmony with nature and protect the fragile ecosystem on which we all depend.”
“We are thrilled to have Jon Huertas, a Kind Traveler Ambassador, experience the power of conservation with Manta Trust and Hurawalhi Island Resort & Kudadoo Private Island, and in turn, educate others on the fragility of our environment and simple ways to participate in turning the tide for vulnerable, threatened, and endangered species. Through traveling
with purpose, it’s possible to have a more meaningful, connected, and memorable vacation while also creating a sustainable future for generations to come,” stated Jessica Blotter, CEO & Co-Founder of Kind Traveler.
With local research and conservation efforts centered in the Maldives, the Manta Trust is one of the largest and long-standing manta conservation groups in the world. With the largest brain of all fish species, and despite their popularly with divers and snorkelers, targeted and bycatch fisheries driven by demands for their gill rakers from Chinese medicine (despite evidence that the gills have no medicinal value), have had a devastating impact on populations around the world.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s oldest global environmental organization, rates mantas as a ‘vulnerable’ species, one category before considered ‘endangered.’
A $10 donation to Manta Trust will:
Take a Maldivian child on a snorkeling excursion with manta rays inspiring local conservation efforts
Support education efforts to coastal communities to promote manta ray conservation
Help to maintain the IDtheManta database, which tracks ventral surfaces of mantas and track their migration and other details necessary for successful conservation
The Maldivian resorts and Kind Traveler have tremendous potential for positive global impact. Last year alone, more than 1.2 billion trips were taken around the world. Meanwhile, nearly 75 percent of travelers polled in Tourism Cares and Phocuswright’s Good Travels research study believe it’s important that their travel dollars benefit the communities they visit.
In terms of the hotel profile, Kind Traveler highlights each property in a meaningful way by connecting the traveler with an opportunity to positively impact a local charity in the neighborhood and the hotel’s ‘Kind Factors’ – the term used to describe how the hotel is advancing individual wellness, sustainability, and community impact. This unique way of telling the hotel’s
story reinforces a commitment to positive global impact, at a time when transparency is expected by today’s travelers and consumers.
Some of Kudadoo Private Island’s notable Kind Factors for sustainability include: use of glass-bottled water from a local desalination plant to reduce plastic, 100 percent powered by the sun, biodegradable products used as often as possible instead of single use plastic, sustainably sourced wood and other building materials, locally sourced sustainable and organic foods, use of Healing Earth biodegradable lifestyle amenities, turtle conservation with Olive Ridley Project, and many more.
For Hurawalhi Island Resort, Kind Factors for sustainability include playing home to its own marine biology centre (a Manta Trust research facility with a resident marine biologist who educates guest and local communities on conservation), being 30 percent powered by the sun, line drying 4,000 items per month in the sun, use of glass water bottles via a local desalination plant, use of paper straws, an on-site greenhouse and herb garden for culinary and spa use, and many more initiatives to support sustainability and wellness.
For more information on how to #TravelKindly and support manta ray conservation on Kind Traveler, visit Hurawalhi Island Resort and Kudadoo Private Island. Follow Jon Huertas along on his journey to the Maldives on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and share his educational tips for sustainable travel with your friends.
Media Contacts:
Kind Traveler
Casey Joy Carroll
Ccarroll@KindTraveler.com
424-443-8166
Jon Huertas
TRUE Public Relations
Mike Liotta, 323-957-0730
Cece Yorke, 323-957-0730
Kudadoo Private Island & Hurawalhi Island Resort
Peridot Consulting
Joy Limanon
Manta Trust
Simon Hilbourne
ABOUT JON HUERTAS
An actor of the stage and screen, writer, producer, director, musician and member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Jon Huertas is best known for his portrayal of Miguel Rivas on the SAG Award-winning NBC TV series This is Us, as well as his eighth season run on Castle and in HBO's Emmy Award–winning miniseries Generation Kill. In 2012, Huertas won the NCLR ALMA Award for Favorite TV Actor Supporting Role in a Drama, as well as a Prism Award for Performance in a Drama Episode. Jon is a PADI-certified rescue diver and is passionate about wildlife and ocean conservation.
ABOUT THE MANTA TRUST
Formed in 2011, the Manta Trust is a UK registered charity that coordinates global mobulid research and conservation efforts. Our team is comprised of a diverse group of researchers, scientists, conservationists, educators and media experts; working together to share and promote knowledge and expertise. Our mission is to conserve mobulid rays, their relatives, and their habitats, through a combination of research, education and collaboration.
ABOUT KUDADOO MALDIVES PRIVATE ISLAND AND HURAWALHI MALDIVES
Environment matters at the heart of Kudadoo Maldives Private Island – the first fully solar-powered luxury resort of its kind in the Maldives – and Hurawalhi Maldives. Kudadoo and Hurawalhi take pride in a series of environmentally friendly undertakings and continually work to minimise their impact on the fragile ecosystem that it is a part of their unique world. Going green is a responsibility rather than a choice, with sustainability and eco-consciousness not taking a back seat when ensuring guests’ satisfaction and comfort.
ABOUT KIND TRAVELER
Launched in late 2016, Kind Traveler, a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), is the first socially conscious ‘Give + Get’ hotel booking and education platform that empowers travelers to benefit the wellbeing of communities, the environment, and animals. Travelers receive special rates and perks to book directly with curated hotels upon a $10 nightly donation to a local charity that positively impacts the visiting destination, or to charity of choice on Kind Traveler. 100 percent of the donations raised on the Kind Traveler platform go directly to charities. As of 2019, Kind Traveler represents 100+ hotels and 60+ charities in 14 countries. www.KindTraveler.com