A Bold Pivot By Atlantis Resort Reveals How Travel Is Changing

mai 31, 2017

Atlantis

Tourism is changing rapidly. People are rejecting canned tours and resort living in favor of immersive experiences. This push started in independent travel more than a decade ago — now it’s hit the mainstream. Big brands can’t deny that the largest market segment travels differently and holds authenticity in the highest regard. In a year that’s been marred by xenophobia, properties are learning to celebrate local heritage and history.

Atlantis resort, on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, is diving into this new era headfirst. For nearly two decades, Atlantis has been what Americans associate with mega resorts: sweeping waterparks, underwater gift shops, and celebrity chef run restaurants. That’s not to say that these are bad things. For a resort of its size, Atlantis has always done a remarkably good job of feeling… homey. The food is crowd pleasing without being boring and the beaches are as stunning as any screensaver-Bahamian-fantasy could ever ask.

Still, it’s tough to deny that Atlantis felt like it was sort of doing its own thing. Not so much a part of the Bahamas as an independent republic. (Ironically, the island that Atlantis is built on once was an independent republic, ruled by pirates.) With a new set of community-supported initiatives, the resort seems to be recognizing the tidal shift in how people travel.

“The world has changed since Atlantis first opened,” reads a statement by Howard C. Karawan, President of Atlantis. “We needed to bring the soul and richness of our location and our people to the forefront.”

The result is a multi-platform collaboration that will celebrate local storytellers, artisans, and creative thinkers. The first entry is a short film titled Come to Life — which sets the tone for a the new era at the property.

“We always knew Atlantis was in The Bahamas,” Karawan’s statement continues, “but what we forgot is that The Bahamas is in Atlantis. By encouraging our team to share their stories and let their personalities shine, we have seen inspirational moments between the Bahamian spirit and our guests.”

The three minute film is certainly inspiring and a hard tonal shift from advertising that traditionally focused on Americans having fun on waterslides (again, not a bad thing). It will be interesting to track how the initiative develops and whether it continues to feel authentic. For now, there’s already a whole slate of collaborations with local artists on deck plus an Atlantis music channel launching to help introduce Bahamian music to the world.

Above all things, this move — by a tourism powerhouse — underscores what so many travelers have always known: There is nothing cooler than actually connecting with the community you’ve flown across the world to visit.