In 1993, Ho Kwon Ping was on a trip to the Maldives. The former journalist was on a mission, having turned his hand to hospitality and transformed a disused bay in Thailand into the first Banyan Tree resort, he wanted the hotel brand’s second property to be in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
At a small island, 30 minutes from Male, KP (as he’s known to his friends) toured a forest-topped islet in the North Male Atoll. Home to a small guest house, there was not much else on the island, not least electricity or running water.
“Still, he knew that this was the one,” Mohamed Naeem, deputy general manager at Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru tells me as we sit on the terrace of Madi Hiyaa, the resort’s manta-shaped overwater restaurant, enjoying uninterrupted ocean views.
Naeem has been part of the resort since its inception. Born and brought up in the Maldives, the former teacher-turned-hotelier relocated to the tiny island before it officially became Banyan Tree. As one of the first international resorts to open in the Maldives, the Singaporean hotel brand brought a lot of changes to the industry across the Indian Ocean island nation.
“I remember once in the early days, I went to a meeting with the leadership team. I was the only Maldivian in the room. Not only that, but I was the only Asian in the room. I couldn’t quite believe the proposals these men were making,” recalls Naeem. “Workers were to get one month off after every three months of working and a flight home every few months, and more. I wrote it all down, but in my head, I was thinking this will never happen.”
But happen it did as Banyan Tree brought international hotelier standards to what was then a tourism industry very much in its infancy.
Hands-on conservation
Three decades on and more than a million visitors now flock annually to the Maldives. While this rapid tourism development has brought economic benefits to the archipelago, it has not come without cost.
Coastal areas and marine ecosystems face degradation, often due to waste from densely populated resort islands. At Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, a commitment to preserving the natural environment is evident. As the first resort in the Maldives to establish an on-site marine laboratory, conservation and education have been core components of the story for many years.
“We’re doing all sorts of conservation with the guests. It is included in the stay price as it’s not something that Banyan Tree wants guests to have to pay extra for,” head marine biologist Nick tells me while I glue a piece of coral onto a concrete marine cookie. The activity is the newest conservation focused project to launch at the resort, aiming to let guests be part of the efforts to help resort the island’s surrounding corals.
Travellers are welcome to visit the newly launched purpose-built marine lab where a colourful classroom setup is adorned with accurate fish representations of the sea life found in the nearby ocean. Glowing fish tanks filled with planted corals line one side of the lab, which has an overhead gallery where visitors can partake in educational discussions and conservation lessons. A new coral spawning programme is under development, a pioneering method that could repopulate the hotel’s house reef in just a few years, much faster than using conventional conservation methods, explains Nick. Of course, more traditional conservation methods remain, and I get the chance to see some in action the next day while scuba diving.
About 15 metres below the surface of the Indian Ocean, surrounded by colourful parrot fish-tailed trigger fish, my dive buddy and I pass a metal cage-like structure covered in corals. These synthetic electric reefs emit low-level electric currents, which trigger a process that deposits calcium carbonate onto the structure, essentially providing a growth boost for the corals.
"When planted on these reefs, corals are not only safer from predators," explains Henry, the resort’s assistant marine biologist, "but they also grow significantly faster."
A small island and a big impact
Conservation efforts extend beyond the water at Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru. Guest rooms utilise refillable toiletry bottles and glass water bottles, eliminating single-use plastics.
As one of the region's pioneering holiday islands, Banyan Tree also balances its long-standing hospitality with updates. Villa renovations include modern amenities like USB charging ports, new artwork and upgraded balcony furniture. The resort maintains a rustic and natural atmosphere, intentionally avoiding overwater villas and constructing buildings around existing topiary.
"The owners made a choice to prioritise unobstructed ocean views and to preserve the natural environment wherever possible,” explains Naeem. This choice puts the natural beauty of the island first, although it does result in some unique villa layouts including irregular-shaped bathrooms and swimming pools located in the rear of the villas, far away from the million-dollar ocean views.
Walking around the sand-covered island takes all of six minutes – I time it as I go. While that is a drop in the ocean compared to many newer resorts in this popular holiday destination, these 48,000 square metres represent three decades of hospitality and a foundational approach to preserving nature alongside the Maldives modern tourism development.
