Once Upon a Blonde Island?

Somehow this sounds like a really bad idea.  I just hope everyone brings sun screen.  Back in October, the BBC ran an article about a Lithuanian company’s plans for a Maldive island resort  run entirely by blondes.  The proposed development was reported on again this  week in the Associated Press, the Huffington Post and other sources.  The company Olialia, pronounced “ooh-la-la”, “ is run and staffed by blonde women, and already operates in 75 different business sectors, making products from computer software and food products to pop music.

Lithuanian blonde island plan raises eyebrows

A Lithuanian company plans to set up a holiday island in the Maldives run entirely by blondes – the latest project in a growing blonde movement in the Baltics. But how legitimate is this latest sign of Baltic blonde ambition?

The island project was officially unveiled this weekend at a party with a blonde dress code, in a new nightclub in Vilnius opened by Olialia. But the resort, which is meant to be opened in 2015, has been heavily criticised.

When it was announced on the Maldivian news website “Minivan” in September, many readers condemned it as discriminatory by potentially excluding non-white Maldivians.

Local laws could make things difficult as resorts in the Maldives are required to hire at least 50% local staff.

Giedre Pukiene says her company does not discriminate and welcomes all applicants, no matter what their gender, age, ethnicity or hair colour.

“But we find that when women with dark hair work here, they are surrounded by all these beautiful blondes, so eventually they end up going blonde too,” she said.

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