This article deals with a new way of creating tourism
memory in Phuket, Thailand.
More precisely, it is about designing sustainable underwater
objects to enhance responsible diving, to sensitize customers with sustainability and
leave them with great memories, as they are not used to dive and discover this
type of reef underwater.
The company offering this project is called Reef
Worlds and it is now in the concept stage for those projects in Phuket.
Reef Worlds was established 3 years ago and is based
in Los Angeles, USA. It aims at working with resorts in order to create
sustainable artificial reef systems with the best technology now available to
reduce tourism pressures on natural reefs. It is about targeting mass tourism
all around the world to combine conservation with tourism.
Image by Reef Worlds
Dave Taylor, the Head of Development at Reef Worlds
declared in the Phuket Gazette, “If you can create a tourism memory then you
have won your game. You have won everything, because that’s a memory that never
leaves a potential client, and they always come back to it”. (http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article12874.html)
This new concept would enhance an interest in sustainable
artificial reefs, as many were already created by artificial-reef-building NGOs
but were only dedicated to conservation and not to tourism.
Balnear stations such as Phuket have an economy mainly driven
by tourism and these reefs would boost sustainable diving tourism.
How
will they build these artificial reefs?
Image by Phuket Gazette: "A rendering of what an iconic artificial reef might look like."
The aim is to build iconic forms underwater by using
crushed rock from ancient coral beds and low PH concrete for their structures
so that corals can adhere. This would attract the fauna the divers want to see like sharks or manta rays, blowing them away as they would approach the artificial reefs.
Reef Worlds will inspire themselves with iconic design forms
that are used in the resort to then create a transition from land to ocean,
based on the resort themes.
If a resort has ten designs, they will be
able to have fifty shapes put into water as each individual piece can be
stamped up to five times.
Theses pieces, created with the essentials of sustainability, would weight between 4,500 to 18,000 kilograms
and are guaranteed to resist category five hurricanes.
Reef Worlds promotes ‘do not harm tourism’ and is
looking for white-sand bottoms or crushed coral flats that are denuded of life.
They provide 10 years of follow-up analysis for their reefs.
What would be the advantage of having submersive pieces for a resort?
What would be the advantage of having submersive pieces for a resort?
These artificial reefs could be seen as a marketing
tool as it is no frequent, no one else has it, and they are specifically branded to
the resort. Of course, this has a cost:
USD 100,000 for a three acre site for instance.
USD 100,000 for a three acre site for instance.
Is
it worth the investment?
When diving, the customers will take pictures and
videos to then spread them on social media networks, this enhancing the
advertising of the site, of the resort.
So our answer to that question would be
‘yes’ as we know the important impact of social media nowadays.
Our opinion is that this new technology could be a great way to
preserve the natural fauna and flora as it is in danger with mass tourism and also to fix natural reefs when they have been damaged.
Also, it is a good way
to create memories and to sensitize divers and tourists with sustainable artificial reefs, this could make them be aware of the importance of sustainability.
Moreover, in this process of sustainability, resorts could gain notoriety with their involvement regarding the oceanlife preservation.
All in all, a new technology combining conservation and tourism = a sustainable step for a near future.
Jennifer & William
Key Words: mass tourism, responsible diving, sustainable artificial reef, conservation, sustainability.
Source: article written by Isaac Stone Simonelli on April 27, 2012 and retrieved from
http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article12874.html
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