In a ceremony hosted at Dolton House, Hyde Park, Australia - the Women in Travel Awards acknowledges exceptional women in travel, across all disciplines, and celebrates the inspiring and innovative actions displayed by trailblazing women throughout the industry each year.
Entered into the Sustainability category, the award recognised Cliona for her contribution to sustainability in the travel industry, her future ambitions and commitment to sustainable practices.
Cliona has implemented an array of sustainable initiatives over the past year, including establishing a Coral Restoration Project, introducing a Seabin Project, and the ‘Adopt a Dive Site’ with Project AWARE. Other achievements include enhancing and progressing Kokomo Private Island’s existing Manta Identification Program and furthering the resort’s Dock to Dish sustainable fishing program.
Cliona O’Flaherty, Kokomo Private Island’s Marine Biologist, said, “It's such an honour to win this award and to be recognised at The Women in Travel Awards for delivering and innovating in an area that I’m so passionate about. I’m immensely thankful to Kokomo Private Island for funding and supporting my endeavours to preserve the surrounding marine ecosystem, to ensure it continues to thrive”.
“We pride ourselves to lead by example and our long term ambition is for other local and global resorts to learn from our findings and adopted our practices," she added.
Many of the sustainability initiatives Cliona has implemented at Kokomo Private Island are interactive practices, allowing guests the opportunity to partake in activities to learn and understand the importance of conserving one of our most vital natural resources.