Business | Tourism
Green travellers mean business
Holidaymakers opting for smaller, more personalised resorts
- By Emma Procter, Features Editor
- Published: 00:00 November 4, 2009
- Image Credit: Supplied
- Emirates has just launched the Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Australia's first luxury conservation-based resort. 'When guests open their eyes at Wolgan Valley they will see the real Australia in all its natural beauty,' says Williams.
Dubai: Despite the damage the global recession has done to most travel markets, eco-tourism resorts are on the up.
Once considered a form of niche tourism, eco-resorts are pushing their way into the mainstream with both new and existing properties reporting surging interest.
The term itself refers to travel to protected areas that aims to be low impact and which is usually small scale. This kind of tourism focuses on the education of the traveller, provides funds for conservation and stimulates the economic and social development of local communities.
Long-term vision
It is now seen as crucial if future generations are to experience the range of global environments and species existing today.
In Dubai, Emirates' Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, located in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR), recently celebrated its tenth anniversary and Tony Williams, senior vice-president, resorts and projects, Emirates Hotels & Resorts, says the secret of its success has been long-term vision.
"Al Maha works because financial investment and conservation are long-term projects and our approach has been that these two elements are natural partners," he says.
"The guest experience at the [Al Maha] resort today is far superior to ten years ago because of all our conservation efforts. Look at scuba-diving resorts — if they had preserved the reefs years ago then the quality of the diving would have never suffered."
Williams predicts an increase in the trend of holidaymakers choosing smaller, more personalised individualised resorts that have recognised green credentials.
Carbon offsetting on air travel will no longer be enough, he believes future consumers will want their entire travel experience to give them a clean conscience.
Al Maha itself has mastered the art of eco-friendly desert breaks with the huge resort being home to herds of Arabian oryx and Domani gazelles among other species, all cared for by a team of rangers.
Other resorts in UAE that have found success under an eco-tourism banner include Anantara's Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Further afield in Oman, the brand new Ras Al Jinz turtle sanctuary is pulling in eco-enthusiasts searching for a pared down, authentic ecological experience where guests can witness the night time egg laying of protected green turtles.
Endangered species
Emirates has also just launched the Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Australia's first luxury conservation-based resort situated between two national parks bordering the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
Its first hospitality development outside Dubai, the A$125 million (Dh410 million) project is being built on the same principles as Al Maha by supporting wide-ranging conservation practices and focusing on endangered species protection.
Activities centre on understanding aboriginal culture, four-wheel drive safaris, and horse riding through the spectacular landscape.
"When guests open their eyes at Wolgan Valley they will see the real Australia in all its natural beauty," says Williams.
Also on the horizon, is Emirates' Cap Ternay Resort & Spa in the Seychelles. Set to open late 2012 with a $253 million (Dh929 million) investment, this is Emirates Hotels & Resorts' largest international investment to date, and the largest yet in the Seychelles, with a total of 421 individual rooms.
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