More hotels join Dubai green push

Dubai: Hotels in Dubai are trying to become greener by reducing environmental pollution.

The number of hotels trying to become ‘green' has increased to 104 in 2011 from 70 in 2009 as Dubai plans to conduct benchmark studies with seven destinations including Boston, Portland, Puerto Rico, Macao, South Africa and Melbourne, about the operation of green awards and eco-attractions.

A slew of Green Tourism initiatives and awareness programmes about environmentally sustainable tourism launched by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has been helping the hotels and hotel apartments in the Arabian Gulf region's tourism hub in reducing the consumption of electricity and water and presenting themselves as environment-friendly properties to guests from across the world.

Reasonable concerns

"Several other GCC states have also started giving more focus to tourism. There have been reasonable concerns about environmental issues due to the development of the tourism industry in our region," Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, DTCM executive director of business development and media relations division, said at a workshop.

He said the DTCM has been active in enhancing the industry's contribution to Green Tourism.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation defines sustainable tourism as "tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be filled while maintaining cultural integrity, essentials ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems".

Awareness

Shaikha Al Mutawa, DTCM director of business development and chairperson of the Dubai Green Tourism Award organising committee, said the aims of green tourism initiatives include encouraging the hotel sector to be conscious about the use of natural resources and energy conservation and implementing systems that reduce the emission of carbon dioxide.

It also aims to spread environmental awareness and social responsibility in tourism and create a statistical environmental model for hotels that illustrates the scale of energy consumption and improvements.

She said the UAE's Green Economy Initiative includes six major tracks covering a wide range of legislation, policies, programmes and projects.

Awards: 23 on the short list

In 2009, the DTCM launched Dubai Green Tourism Award to encourage five-, four- and three-star hotels reduce carbon emissions by 20 per cent. The award submissions for this year were extended to include two-star hotels and standard hotel apartments. The department has shortlisted 23 hotel establishments for the 2011 awards programme. Hotels and hotel apartments are assessed for a wide range of environmental, economic and social issues, including energy saving and community involvement.