Gold Medal issues new overwater villa guidance for the Maldives
Gold Medal has introduced new safety guidelines for its overwater villa product in the Maldives, which sees the properties it sells categorised according to age-range suitability.
This follows an audit and review of all of the Maldivian properties sold across its extensive resort portfolio.
It has been working with its health and safety partner Intertek Checkpoint over the last couple of years, which in turn has contributed to the development of ABTA’s new guidelines for overwater villas for the UK industry.
Tricia Birmingham, Trading Director, Gold Medal, commented: "Prior to these guidelines being produced, we had a blanket policy to prohibit bookings in Maldives hotels with overwater villas if anyone under the age of 12 would be travelling in the group."
"With the growing popularity of the destination, and its gradual shift to the mainstream family market, we’re delighted to be leading the way in ensuring agents can be confident they’re making the appropriate recommendations and booking the correct properties for their clients."
The guidelines give accommodation owners clarity over what is expected in terms of the presence of the barrier to the edge of decking and childproof locks or latches on the access door to a villa deck.
It also covers whether there is an overwater hammock on the villa deck, and the existence of child safety signage mandating adult supervision when on the villa deck at their property.
Gold Medal’s inventory of properties in the Maldives with overwater villa room types are now categorised as open to all ages, suitable for children aged 8 or over, for those aged 12 or over, or being suitable for young people aged 16 and above.
Birmingham added: "It can only help ensure we’re supporting our agent partners when safely labelling, marketing and selling the destination to families in the future."
Similar guidelines have been rolled out across all of dnata Travel Group’s UK travel brands, and the enhanced expertise of the group in this area has seen it work directly with Pullman Hotels and Resorts in the Maldives in the pre-opening stages of its Pullman Maldives Maamutaa Resort.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt