Dubai Tourism sets July XNUMX as the last date for hotel establishments to implement sustainability requirements

The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai (Dubai Tourism) has set July 2021, XNUMX, as the deadline for all hotel establishments in the emirate to implement the nineteen sustainability requirements, which aim to standardize and improve performance and environmental practices in hotels to enhance the competitiveness of Dubai’s economy, as well as consolidate Dubai’s position as one One of the world's leading sustainable tourism destinations. Accordingly, hotels should resume submitting monthly reports to the Carbon Calculator Program.

In 2019, the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative trained 528 hotels to implement the requirements and standards of sustainability in the establishments classification system.

Dubai Tourism’s decision to extend the implementation period for sustainability requirements for an additional 12 months came in light of the department’s keenness to lay strong foundations to ensure the hospitality sector’s recovery from the repercussions of the “Covid-19” pandemic. The hotels will ensure that they implement the standards imposed under the evaluation and scrutiny of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative.

Yousef Lootah, Executive Director of Tourism Development and Investment at the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai, and Vice President of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative, said:: “The tourism sector in Dubai has proven over the past year its ability to overcome challenges with its success in reopening safe destinations for citizens and residents as well as international visitors, while taking care to follow preventive measures. In line with Dubai’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions, the tourism sector will contribute to enabling Dubai to set global standards through its approach and thinking for the future of sustainability, as well as implementing social responsibility initiatives and practices.”

Lootah added: “We encourage hotels to support and implement the XNUMX sustainability requirements of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative, and to submit monthly reports to the Carbon Calculator Program starting from 1 July next. There is no doubt that the continuous support provided by government agencies will contribute to enhancing the role of hotel establishments in achieving the goal of reducing carbon emissions in the coming years.”

The 2021 standards cover a variety of requirements including sustainable management, performance measures, training employees on sustainability, establishing a sustainability management committee, participation in future government initiatives, guest awareness, organizing green events, implementing energy management systems, energy management plan, and social responsibility for communities. In turn, hotels will work by improving the sustainability processes within their facilities to enhance the competitiveness of Dubai's economy. These requirements are also in line with the Dubai Strategy to reduce carbon emissions 16, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint by XNUMX percent this year.

The carbon-calculating tool, which was launched in January 2017, is part of the Tourism Dirham platform, and aims to measure carbon emissions in the hospitality sector in Dubai. For the success of the program, hotels must submit monthly reports on carbon emissions from 11 sources, including: electricity, district cooling Water, waste, and fuel consumption for vehicles as well as for generators, fillable fire extinguishers, as well as liquefied gas. Accordingly, hotels are required to monitor these sources and record the results on a monthly basis to be submitted to the platform, and this information will be collected and analyzed to determine the overall percentage of carbon emissions in the sector. This tool provides an opportunity to reduce operating costs for hotels through continuous monitoring of information on their energy and water consumption, as well as their waste generation.

Dubai Tourism, through the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Program, will organize training courses on sustainability requirements, during the period from 23 until May 27 Invitations will be sent to all hotels to attend.