“For the last 50 years, resorts have done a very good job of maximizing every last square inch of land-based property that they have, but they’ve all come out of the last cycle saying ‘what’s next?’” he says. “They always kind of considered that the ocean would take care of itself. But resort hotels are waking up to the fact that they have acres of property that they can monetize and incentivize.”
Reef Worlds creates art inspired artificial reefs to combat nearshore reef loss for hospitality properties around the globe. The company is comprised of marine biologists, divers, tourism experts, and Hollywood set designers who have worked on blockbuster films for the past decade. Douglas explains that Reef Worlds is in the process of designing one of the worlds most ambitious projects in Dubai. A project to build out a 5 acre underwater Lost City that not only benefits the environment with new habitat but will also put Dubai on the map as a global scuba and snorkel destination.
The worlds oceans are suffering from mass coral bleaching events that wipe out a large chunks of near-shore reef systems. Resort growth is also part of the problem for nearshore reefs as waste runoff, coastal development, and sedimentation due to construction put pressure on these fragile eco systems. “The ocean is like a garden,” says Douglas. “You have to sustainably manage it, you have to take care of it. When you build that much, the in-shore reef is the first to go. If you’ve lost a big reef structure, you have to replace it. That’s what we’re trying to do bit by bit.”
To create these uniquely new systems, Reef Worlds collects orphan coral from off shore and uses bio-integration to attach the corals to newly built art inspired structures, which the company places 20 to 30 feet off shore. The structures are designed with influences from ancient civilizations and are engineered to become habitats for sea life. And while Douglas doesn’t deny the ecological benefits of constructing new, thriving coral reefs, he says that resort hotels should focus on what these attractions can do for their bottom lines.
Creating artificial reefs is not an entirely new phenomenon, but Reef Worlds is hoping to draw on the experience of its Hollywood team to help bring a “wow factor” unlike some of the more simplistic artificial reef designs that have been implemented near tourism hot spots.
Instead, Douglas cites the example of English artist Jason deCaires Taylor, whose Underwater Museum project, located off the coast of Cancun, has received endless praise and accolades since it was installed in 2009. The project brings in millions of dollars in tourism spend each year.
And since the new hotel reefs reefs are built near land, resorts will have a higher turnaround for scuba and snorkeling expeditions. The time and transportation costs that some resorts spend on sending divers miles out to sea can be greatly minimized since the attractions will be accessible from the beach. “People’s time at a resort is very limited,” says Douglas. “If they can literally walk down the beach to the dive site, get trained, and get out again in half the time, resorts can increase dive sales by 100 to 200 percent.”
Resort hotels that partner with Reef Worlds will also have a new and high-impact attraction that creates regional habitat to market. The company provides resorts with high-quality photos and videos so the properties can build out glossy PR campaigns with it's award winning in house media company. But Douglas says it is the “intangibles” that make an opportunity like this extremely exciting for hotels. If tourists begin to dive down to these sites and start posting photos on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, generating a big buzz about the attraction and bringing in new visitors become real possibilities.
Reef Worlds is currently in detailed talks with three of the top resort chains in the Caribbean.
“This is instant tourism,” says Douglas. “From the day we’re finished placing the reef, it is open for business and tourism happens. Every resort hotel in the world has an under performing nearshore reef, the smart owners and operators are the ones who will do something uniquely sustainable with it, that's where Reef Worlds comes in."
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