PADI Honours Oblu Nature Helengeli And TGI Maldives For Women’s Diving Contributions

OBLU NATURE Helengeli by Sentido and its dive centre partner, TGI Maldives, have been honoured with a PADI award for their “Outstanding Contributions to Women’s Diving.”

The resort – located in North Male Atoll – is among the portfolio of renowned hospitality company Atmosphere Core.

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The award was presented by PADI Regional Manager for the Maldives, Matt Wenger, during an event at the resort yesterday.

The event was attended by ten female journalists from around the world, who were invited to participate in a PADI Women’s Dive Day celebration from 14th to 17th July.

Speaking after presenting the award, Matt noted that PADI Women’s Dive Day, celebrated globally on 20th July, has significantly increased women’s participation in diving and dive certifications.

“We proudly mark the 10th Anniversary of PADI Women’s Dive Day with this award to TGI Maldives at OBLU NATURE Helengeli. The award recognises the combination of what we believe is a world-class location and overall experience, joining PADI-recognised dive sites, exceptional dive centre services, and exemplary hospitality,” he said.

Minister of State for Tourism Dr Abdulla Niyaz applauded the resort and the tourism industry for evolving to accommodate the diversity of modern female travellers.

“The Maldivian tourism industry thrives on diversity. The demographic profile of our tourists has also evolved. We now see more friends travelling together as well as an increase in single travellers, many of whom are women seeking freedom and independence.”

“This evolution reflects Maldives’ ability to adapt and cater to the changing needs of global travellers. ”
The Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal meanwhile congratulated the resort and TGI Maldives for receiving the award.

“PADI’s award presented at OBLU NATURE Helengeli in partnership with TGI Maldives, reinforces the hotelier Atmosphere Core’s commitment to offering experiences for all. The Ministry of Tourism congratulates the team at Helengeli island and importantly the highly skilled team at TGI Maldives for creating a centre of excellence for female diving. This award recognises all involved as well as the Maldives as the leading dive destination for all divers around the world”, said the Minister of Tourism.

TGI Maldives operates in five tourist properties nationwide. Greta Marcelli, the Operations Manager of TGI, has observed an increase in the percentage of female divers at the resort, now nearly equal to male divers.

“Helengeli is really based on the promotion of this island as a diving island. There are very nice dive spots around here. A few years back, there was a significant difference in the percentage of male and female divers, but nowadays, the numbers are almost equal,” Marcelli said. “We are trying to add more female instructors because, especially with certain nationalities, they prefer to have female instructors.”

“I think that just women have started to dive, start to love the sea, start to not think that only men can do these activities,” she added.