Dubai Tourism Directive Mandates Motels To Comply With Sustainability Necessities By July 1 Deadline

A guideline from The Ministry of Tourism and Trade Marketing in Dubai (Dubai Tourism) mandates that all hotels must meet the sustainability requirements for hotel operations by July 1, 2021, as set by Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST), an initiative to further improve Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading destinations for sustainable tourism.

The policy also requires hotels to resume monthly filing of drivers for carbon emissions. The system has the long-term goal of improving sustainability performance across the industry. As early as 2019, Dubai Tourism, under the direction of DST, trained 528 hotels in the implementation of these sustainability standards and is currently inviting hotels to a refresher webinar before July 2021.

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline has been extended by a further 12 months. That decision was made by Dubai Tourism to strengthen the foundations for the hospitality industry to recover. The progress in implementing the binding standards is monitored by the hotels and checked by the summer time.

Yousuf Lootah, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sustainable Tourism, said: “Over the past year, the strength of the city’s tourism industry has been reflected in the safe and successful reopening of Dubai to national and international visitors. In line with the city’s broader strategy to reduce carbon emissions, we know that tourism can also be an area where Dubai is setting the standard around the world with forward-thinking practices on corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility. We strongly recommend hotels to comply with the 19 sustainability requirements of Dubai Tourism and to submit CO2 calculators by July 1st. We know that with the ongoing support of the relevant government agencies, these hotel operations can play a major role in achieving the total carbon footprint reduction target for the next year and beyond. “

The 19 sustainability requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees in hotel establishments, and corporate social responsibility programs for local communities. By improving internal sustainability activities, hotel operations will in turn improve the competitiveness of Dubai’s tourism-related economy. These requirements support Dubai’s goal of the CO2 reduction strategy 2021 of reducing CO2 emissions by a total of 16% by 2021.

Since its launch in January 2017, the Carbon Calculator – part of the Tourism Dirham Platform – has been a tool used to measure the carbon footprint in Dubai’s hospitality industry. On a monthly basis, hotels report their consumption of 11 carbon emission sources including: electricity, district cooling, water, waste, fuel for transportation, fuel for generators, fire extinguishers and liquefied petroleum gas for analysis. This information is aggregated and analyzed to provide valuable industry insights into the sector’s collective carbon footprint. By formulating a baseline along with consistent follow-up, this information also enables hotels to understand their energy, water and waste usage and identify successful cost-saving opportunities.

From 23 to 27 May 2021, DST is holding virtual information events for all hotels on sustainability requirements. For more information, please contact [email protected].

About Dubai’s Ministry of Tourism and Trade Marketing (Dubai Tourism)

With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world’s premier tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai Tourism’s mission is to raise awareness of Dubai among global audiences and to attract tourists and foreign investment to the emirate. Dubai Tourism is the main authority for planning, monitoring, developing and marketing the tourism sector in Dubai. He markets and promotes the emirate’s commercial sector and is responsible for licensing and classifying all tourism services, including hotels and tour operators and travel agents. The brands and divisions of the Dubai Tourism portfolio include Dubai Business Events, Dubai Calendar and Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.