Reef Smart enhances the guest experience through engaging, custom-made products that are designed to provide unique insight into the natural ecosystem around the resort. These products not only make wonderful souvenirs for guests, but also raise environmental awareness, improve in-water safety, and provide an important new sources of revenue for resorts.

The value of an improved environmental image that comes with being Reef Smart cannot be underestimated. Industry data show that travelers increasingly choose their destinations based on good environmental practices. Reef Smart partner resorts demonstrate a responsible environmental attitude that is attractive to guests – they have knowledgeable staff and unique educational products and services that distinguish them from the competition.

Training resort staff in the basics of marine biology not only raises the profile of the entire resort, making it more attractive to environmentally aware guests, it also assists in the professional development of staff, which can improve retention. This is a particularly important concept in the dive industry, where safety and local knowledge are highly valued. Having well-informed staff that pass on their knowledge to guests also improves the visitor experience, which can lead to greater return visits.

Half of the world’s coral reefs have been lost over the past three decades, and half of what remains is under threat from overfishing, pollution, global climate change and ocean acidification. Coral reefs need our help to survive and we want to help resorts, dive operators and their staffs reduce their ecological footprint. Many tropical resorts are intimately linked to the coral reef ecosystem that surrounds them, which means they have the most to gain from their protection – there is truth in the saying that “no business can be done on a dead planet.” That said, being Reef Smart is also about doing right by the natural environment, with potential benefits that extend far beyond any individual resort.

Environmental awareness does not have to come at a cost – being Reef Smart can pay for itself many times over. Reef Smart products and services allow resorts to access new untapped revenue streams, and our environmental accreditation aims to improve efficiency and reduce costs through better resource management and recycling, for example, which makes doing the ‘right thing’ that much easier.