Awards will recognise Dubai’s most eco-friendly hotels and reflects the city’s goal to become one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations

Dubai, UAE – 28 March 2017:  Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) today announced the launch of Sustainability Awards that are part of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative. The awards have been inaugurated as part of Dubai Tourism’s commitment to supporting The United Nation’s announcement of 2017 being the ‘International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development’, and aim to recognise hotels and individuals who are driving environmental awareness and are adopting tangible measures to ensure enhanced sustainability within the tourism sector.   

The inaugural award ceremony will be held in October 2017 to coincide with Dubai Green Week. The award criteria have been designed to meet the challenges outlined in Dubai’s Carbon Abatement Strategy; issued by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, which commits to reducing carbon emissions by 16 per cent by 2021. It also supports the UAE’s Green Growth Strategy that aims to build an economic system that has sustainability at its core. These initiatives in turn, are in line with Dubai Plan 2021 and Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030.  

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri - Director General of Dubai Tourism said: “Tourism plays a crucial role within the diversification strategy of Dubai. Alongside the growth of this industry comes responsibility, and sustainability within tourism has long been a significant focus for the government of Dubai. As we look forward to capacity expansion and increased visitor volumes in the lead-up to 2020 and beyond, it is paramount for us to implement measures for this industry to conserve resources, saving money for the city of Dubai in the process of doing so. Raising awareness of conservation practices is a key pillar of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism initiative and the launch of the Sustainability Awards supports Dubai’s vision to become a leader in sustainable tourism.”

The awards will feature 20 awards, with the 13 main awards targeted towards hospitality establishments. There will also be seven special awards that recognise the efforts of the leaders and individuals who truly embody the sustainability principles of DST in the sector, and who have created remarkable changes within their organisations. The categories of these seven special awards are:

The Sustainability Awards are now open for entries. All hotel establishments and desert camps are invited to submit their nominations. The adjudication process will cover strategic and operational initiatives implemented by the establishments. These will be benchmarked against standards by highly qualified subject matter experts representing various entities, with process being supervised by a highly-respected jury panel. To participate in the awards, hotels and desert camps must enrol through the DST website (https://dst.dubaitourism.ae). The deadline to submit the applications is 20th of July 2017, which will be followed by the evaluation process, the final DST committee approval for the selection of the winners and an Awards Ceremony during the Dubai Green Week in October 2017.  

Aside from a trophy, winners of the Dubai Sustainability awards will enjoy a number of accolades and benefits. These include being highlighted as ‘Dubai’s Preferred Sustainable Hotel’ within publications, access and invitation to take part in sustainability thought leadership platforms and opportunity to partake in further DST-certified sustainability training.

Dubai Tourism is implementing its Dubai Sustainable Tourism initiative in collaboration with the following partners; Etihad ESCO, Dubai Carbon, Emirates Environmental Group and Emirates Wildlife Society – WWF and Emirates Green Building Council as well as the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, DEWA and Dubai Municipality as strategic partners. The initiative is also in line with Dubai’s goal to become one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations. DST will also shortly be launching courses and training on sustainability for industry stakeholders.