Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) announced the winners of Dubai Sustainable Tourism Awards 2017. The awards, held at The West Dubai Al Habtoor City last week, recognised Dubai’s hotels and tourism companies’ efforts in advancing sustainability in the emirate’s tourism industry.
The Dubai Sustainable Tourism Awards received 151 entries from tourism and hotel establishments ranging from five-star hotels and resorts, to guest houses and desert camps. The winners were listed under 17 different categories: 10 main awards and seven special awards.
Winners in the main category included: Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates Hotel in the five-star city category; Sofitel The Palm Hotel in the five-star resort category; Radisson Blu Hotel – Media City in the four-star category; Suite Novotel Mall of the Emirates in the three-star category; Holiday Inn Express – Dubai Jumeirah in the two-star category; Al Arraf Hotel in the one-star category; Savoy Suites in the hotel apartment deluxe category; Savoy Central Hotel Apartments under hotel apartment standard; Al Khail Guest House won the guest house category and Arabian Adventures took home the prize in the desert camp category.
Winners in the special awards category included: Abdul Quddus Sheikh of Armani Hotel for ‘Sustainability Champion’; TIME Grand Plaza Hotel for ‘Best Green Team’; Accor Hotel Services Middle East for ‘Conservation Champion’; Ibis-Novotel-Adagio Al Barsha for ‘CSR Record Holder’; Fairmont The Palm for ‘Green Procurement Patron’ and ‘Best Retrofit Implementation’ and Platinum Heritage for ‘Renewable Energy Leader.’
The Awards are part of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative, formerly known as the Green Tourism programme, launched by Dubai Tourism in an effort to position Dubai as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations.
The DST initiative, in collaboration with the United Nations, has created a ‘carbon abatement’ strategy to reduce the emirate’s carbon emissions by 16% by 2021, which will make Dubai the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world, the statement from Dubai Tourism said.
Dubai Tourism director general H.E. Helal Saeed Almarri who attended the awards said: “For many years now, based on the vision and wisdom of our leaders, Dubai has been growing and developing at an exponential rate. Yet with this progress comes the need to carefully manage our resources and minimise our environmental impact, and focus our efforts on creating a sustainable environment for Dubai’s residents and visitors alike.”
“Dubai Tourism is already playing an instrumental role in shaping the way forward for sustainable tourism around the world, and if history is any indication, the city will work tirelessly to achieve the targets set, ensuring a cleaner and greener tomorrow,” Almarri added.
The criteria for selecting the winners revolved around five elements crucial for sustainable practices — the optimal use of water, energy and carbon, waste and environmental protection, responsible practices, training and awareness and continuous improvements made by the establishment.
All submissions to the awards were evaluated by a special team of experts from Dubai Tourism, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The top three submissions in each category were then presented to an eminent panel of judges made up of industry experts from DST’s partner organisations, the statement reported.
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