Dubai Sustainable Tourism Seal: DET awards 70 hotels

Dubai is focused on becoming a world-leading sustainable destination.

It is the first city in the region to require sustainability criteria for its hotel classification system, with the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) Stamp being a key initiative to recognize the city’s hotels that meet the highest standards of the DET’s Sustainability Requirements.

The initiative, launched last year together with the Year of Sustainability in the UAEaims to support the city’s hotels to achieve their sustainability goals in line with DET’s 19 Sustainability Requirements.

He Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) awarded 70 hotels in Dubai the DST seal at an awards ceremony organized by DET at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk on January 18.

See the list of award-winning hotels.

TED Sustainability Requirements

These requirements involve the implementation of sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, creation of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and accountability programs. corporate social for local communities.

The seal is awarded according to a three-level system: gold, silver and bronze, related to the level of achievement achieved by the winner. This also reflects a thorough accreditation process overseen by a committee of senior industry professionals.

The initiative aims to accelerate the tourism sector’s efforts to support the UAE’s NetZero 2050 strategy and aligns with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, to consolidate Dubai’s position as one of the top three global cities for business and leisure, and the best city to visit, live and work.

Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Trade Marketing saying:

“The awarding of Dubai’s first Sustainable Tourism Stamps is an important moment in our collective journey, and we congratulate and thank the participating and winning hotels for their efforts.

“We are committed to supporting the industry with frameworks and initiatives that can contribute to achieving our shared objectives, and the launch of DST Stamp has underlined our commitment to collaborating with our stakeholders, in this case hotels, to set the highest standards and reward those. who achieve them. “Through the continued development of the DST Stamp, as well as other current and future initiatives, we hope to further cement Dubai’s status as a sustainable tourism destination.”

Yousuf Lootah, head of the Environmental Sustainability and Social Responsibility Committee of the DETsaying,

“The naming of 70 award winners in this first edition of the DST Stamp certification underlines the high level of compliance of the Dubai hotel industry with our 19 sustainability requirements and provides us with a solid platform on which to build in the years to come. A clear indicator of the sector’s continued maturity, this impressive result highlights operators’ awareness and commitment to driving sustainable tourism practices, in line with our city’s visionary leadership.

“This is an important step towards achieving our strategic objective of making Dubai the destination of first choice for global travelers seeking the best sustainable experience.

“By supporting businesses and encouraging them to adopt green practices and reduce their carbon footprint, we are helping to safeguard the environment, promoting sustainable growth and demonstrating the tourism industry’s foresight and determination to foster a green sector that is a “both economically prosperous and environmentally responsible.”

Dubai takes key steps to ensure sustainable practices

Valid for one year, the DST Seal is the latest initiative in DET’s sustainability strategy which has already seen the launch of the Carbon Calculator, a platform designed to help stakeholders and partners identify carbon saving opportunities. costs and manage the transition towards sustainable practices. and the Dubai Can initiative, which launched in February 2022 with the ‘Refill for Life’ campaign that promotes the use of reusable bottles and encourages people to refill them through 50 water fountains installed throughout the city.

A second Dubai Can project, the Dubai Reef, was launched in December 2023; Dubai Reef, one of the largest marine reef developments in the world, is part of the city’s efforts to increase fish populations, support sustainable fishing and help boost food security.

News source: Gulf Business