This pilot project is focused on showing a balance between ecosystem conservation and food production, which is both possible and necessary in today´s world. The project connects hotel associates, guests and the community to food production and to the land in a unique way. In the gardens of Hilton La Romana, organic fruits, vegetables, and honey are cultivated to demonstrate how sustainable agriculture can be undertaken. Today approximately 5% of the food used in the Central Kitchen of Hilton La Romana comes from these gardens. Local children from the Benerito School visit the garden and learn the importance and benefits of growing produce. The school children also prepare delicious pizzas for their lunch using the vegetables they harvested in the garden, and receive a school kit (backpack, notebooks, pencils and pens) to encourage being meritorious students in their school. This project has been replicated inside the Benerito School at Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, so all the students have the chance to learn about sustainable agriculture and the production of foor in their own backyard. This initiative is part of a bigger initiative called Playa Cares Schools, established by Playa Hotels & Resorts in Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, To create a culture of sustainability in local educational Institutions, using them as a platform to work with key stakeholders in the development of our sustainable destinations.

Jamaican Awareness of Mangroves in Nature (J.A.M.I.N.) program is an immersive, experiential education program that engages high school students and teachers to learn about, restore, and monitor mangroves. The program utilizes proven educational methodologies such as project-based learning, which allows students to explore real-world problems and acquire deeper knowledge over extended periods; and place-based learning, taking students out of their traditional classroom setting and into their local mangroves. Protection of marine and land ecosystems is fundamental for the tourism industry’s success, especially for Playa Hotels & Resorts with 100% of its properties in coastal locations. Playa Hotels & Resorts works with Discovery Bay Marine Lab, part of the West Indies University, on J.A.M.I.N. projects which are meant to be pilot programs to inspire other players (inside and outside of the tourism industry) in each destination to act and work together. The J.A.M.I.N. program's first event enabled 45 students from William Knibb Memorial High School to participate in an immersive environmental education experience at Discovery Bay Marine Lab. The event included educational activities, field trips, and mangrove planting sessions. This collaboration ensured that these students could benefit from hands-on learning about mangrove ecosystems, furthering their understanding of coastal conservation and environmental stewardship. Playa Hotels & Resorts supports the J.A.M.I.N. program since 2023 as part of the Playa Cares Schools initiative To create a culture of sustainability in local educational Institutions, using them as a platform to work with key stakeholders in the development of our sustainable destinations.

Playa Hotels & Resorts has created Playa Cares, its own Sustainable Management System, the implementation of which seeks to comply with the following objectives in each of the destinations where we operate: • To make optimal use of environmental resources, while maintaining essential ecological processes, helping to conserve the natural heritage and biodiversity, and effectively contributing to climate action. • To respect, preserve, and promote local communities' sociocultural authenticity, cultural heritage, traditional values, and intellectual rights. • To operate safely and prepare our operation to adequately respond to any type of risk. guaranteeing the well-being of our guests, visitors, associates, and contractors, within our hotels and offices. • To guarantee viable long-term economic operations, by providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders, including stable employment opportunities, income generation, and social services to local communities. • To maintain a high level of satisfaction for our guests and ensure a significant experience, by actively involving them in sustainability issues of the destinations they visit and promoting sustainable tourism practices among them. • To comply with all applicable local, national, and international legislation and regulations related to our Industry and type of activities. To meet these core objectives, Playa Cares’ integrated approach goes beyond checklists and benchmarks. Playa Hotels & Resorts Sustainability Director, David Andrés Ortegón-Martínez explains, “Sustainability at Playa Hotels & Resorts consists of changing the decision-making process at all levels, with one goal in mind: To be an increasingly competitive company, that uses all our resources in the most efficient way possible, and creates a balance between the environmental, social and economic aspects of our operations".

Our Goal: Preservation of Marine Turtle species and their ecosystems through strategic alliances with local organizations and environmental authorities, under a holistic approach: Financial support, organizational improvement, networking, Education & Communication. With a turtle nesting beach on its doorstep, Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta works to protect endangered sea turtles and their eggs from predators and poachers. The Turtle Fest conservation program aligns with the procedures and protocols of State and National conservation programs. Information about turtle conservation and the importance of a clean ocean is shared with guests, staff, and suppliers. In addition, regional Turtle Conservation Organizations (Grupos Ecologistas de Nayarit A.C.) receive financial support to enhance their efforts. At El Naranjo Turtle Conservation Sanctuary, located in Compostela, Nayarit (Mexico) the Staff of Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta and Wyndham Alltra Puerto Vallarta participates in family integration activities once a year, learning about the importance of the conservation of the marine ecosystems, the challenges of the marine turtle conservation and the way in which they can take an active role in it. Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta has also created a Kids Club activity, Learning with Turtles, where guests’ children learn about sea turtle nesting and the protection of hatchlings. In 2024, a drawing contest was held as part of Turtle Fest, with over 100 drawings submitted from children of hotel associates across Mexico. The competition successfully brought awareness of marine turtle conservation to communities located away from the coast, and was another step to guaranteeing the future protection of this iconic species.

Jamaican Awareness of Mangroves in Nature (J.A.M.I.N.) program is an immersive, experiential education program that engages high school students and teachers to learn about, restore, and monitor mangroves. The program utilizes proven educational methodologies such as project-based learning, which allows students to explore real-world problems and acquire deeper knowledge over extended periods; and place-based learning, taking students out of their traditional classroom setting and into their local mangroves. Protection of marine and land ecosystems is fundamental for the tourism industry’s success, especially for Playa Hotels & Resorts with 100% of its properties in coastal locations. Playa Hotels & Resorts works with Discovery Bay Marine Lab, part of the West Indies University, on J.A.M.I.N. projects which are meant to be pilot programs to inspire other players (inside and outside of the tourism industry) in each destination to act and work together. The J.A.M.I.N. program's first event enabled 45 students from William Knibb Memorial High School to participate in an immersive environmental education experience at Discovery Bay Marine Lab. The event included educational activities, field trips, and mangrove planting sessions. This collaboration ensured that these students could benefit from hands-on learning about mangrove ecosystems, furthering their understanding of coastal conservation and environmental stewardship. Playa Hotels & Resorts supports the J.A.M.I.N. program since 2023 as part of the Playa Cares Schools initiative To create a culture of sustainability in local educational Institutions, using them as a platform to work with key stakeholders in the development of our sustainable destinations.

This pilot project is focused on showing a balance between ecosystem conservation and food production, which is both possible and necessary in today´s world. The project connects hotel associates, guests and the community to food production and to the land in a unique way. In the gardens of Hilton La Romana, organic fruits, vegetables, and honey are cultivated to demonstrate how sustainable agriculture can be undertaken. Today approximately 5% of the food used in the Central Kitchen of Hilton La Romana comes from these gardens. Local children from the Benerito School visit the garden and learn the importance and benefits of growing produce. The school children also prepare delicious pizzas for their lunch using the vegetables they harvested in the garden, and receive a school kit (backpack, notebooks, pencils and pens) to encourage being meritorious students in their school. This project has been replicated inside the Benerito School at Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, so all the students have the chance to learn about sustainable agriculture and the production of foor in their own backyard. This initiative is part of a bigger initiative called Playa Cares Schools, established by Playa Hotels & Resorts in Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, To create a culture of sustainability in local educational Institutions, using them as a platform to work with key stakeholders in the development of our sustainable destinations.

Through a Strategic Partnership with the Company Clean the World, the hotels that work on our Sustainability Program collect, sort, sanitize used amenities to produce hygiene Kits that are delivered to highly vulnerable communities in Dominican Republic The first hotel company in the Dominican Republic to adopt Clean the World’s Hospitality Recycling Program is Karisma Hotels & Resorts with its 2 properties: Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts and Sensatori Resort Punta Cana. With a combined 460 rooms on the ocean-side properties, in just a three month time period, the hotels have already diverted 255 pounds of waste from Dominican landfills, contributing to the creation of over 800 newly recycled bars of life-saving soap to be distributed within the country. “We believe that Tourism Industry is the right answer for the Sustainable Development of many communities and destinations, and it requires a serious and long-lasting commitment from our company, in order to make Sustainability a strategic pillar of our operation,” said David A. Ortegón-Martínez Sustainability Director at Karisma Hotels & Resorts. “By working with Clean the World, we are making a positive impact on the health conditions of vulnerable communities in the Dominican Republic, a very important step for the sustainable development of this destination.” With 39 additional resort properties in Punta Cana alone, the opportunity for hospitality recycling is great. To facilitate the Clean the World Hospitality Recycling Program, Clean the World has partnered with Ecoservices, a Dominican Republic-based environmental consulting company, to leverage existing logistics with local hotels.