Dubai Tourism releases 19 sustainability requirements for hotels

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has announced 19 sustainability requirements that hotel establishments across the emirate will be mandated to comply with under new direction in line with the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative.

The requirements have been laid out to support the emirate’s hotel establishments in their compliance with the Dubai Tourism hotel classification system, with the long-term objective of advancing sustainability performance across the sector.

The 19 sustainability requirements have been developed to map out regulations for hotel establishments across all classifications to follow in order to support positive change within the industry. Through improvements to internal operations, hotel establishments will, in turn, advance the overall sustainability performance of the sector, further enhancing the competitiveness of Dubai’s tourism linked economy.

The requirements cover a variety of areas including sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programs for local communities.

To regulate compliance, Dubai Tourism will begin auditing the performance of the hotels after an 18-month progressive implementation period which will allow hotels to finalise their operations, with the exception of the Carbon Calculator tool, which came into effect as mandatory from January 2017. The DST team conducted a series of training sessions to increase awareness of the implementation of the sustainability requirements, successfully training 45% of the industry to date, with further sessions planned throughout Q2. 

Dubai Tourism Executive Director – Tourism Development and Investments Yousuf Lootah said: “As part of the efforts to transform Dubai into a leading sustainable tourism destination in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, 19 Sustainability Requirements for hotel establishments across various classifications have been launched by Dubai Tourism under the Dubai Sustainable Tourism initiative. The regulated guidelines will help promote energy conservation and efficiency, as well as encourage environmentally sustainable practices across the local tourism inventory.”

“Dubai Tourism has already hosted a number of sessions to train the industry on the newly launched sustainability requirements, supporting hotel establishments in improving their internal operations and giving them the opportunity to grow as green leaders within the community. Following the grace period, these guidelines will be enforced through a structured monitoring process and reporting mechanism to ascertain the outcome of the existing efforts and to quantify what more is required to reach the agreed targets,” he said.

In line with Dubai’s Carbon Abatement Strategy, issued by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, which commits to reducing carbon emissions by 16% by 2021, the DST initiative works in partnership with its network of public and private sector stakeholders to position Dubai as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations. Through its ongoing program dedicated to improving conservation of the emirate’s resources and reducing the carbon footprint of Dubai’s tourism industry, the 19 Sustainability Requirements cover the areas including sustainability management approach, compliance to government initiatives, employee training, guest education, energy management plan and many others.