Dubai Tourism conducts educational workshop to support sustainable tourism initiative

Dubai / Emirates Business

It was a ‘ready, set, conserve’ morning, as Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) hosted the Hospitality Sustainability Board Game, the inaugural activity of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative. Created specifically for the hotel industry, the game, held recently at Media One Hotel, engaged industry
professionals from across the city, as they gained insight into Dubai’s commitment to adopting
sustainable practices and their role in achieving the goals.
Designed by Dubai Tourism in collaboration with Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF, Roya International and Insignia, the game was created as an educational tool for Dubai’s world-class hospitality industry to contribute towards the city’s goal of sustainability. Participants at the event included staff across all aspects of hotel operations, who worked in teams of 2-3 people to measure consumption baselines and identify opportunities to reduce consumption.
Speaking at the event, Solaiman Alrifai, Senior Manager, Tourism Development, Dubai Tourism, said: “Dubai’s hospitality industry, which recently crossed the 100,000 room threshold, has been a cornerstone of the city’s economy. 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 reduce consumption and conserve resources. Raising awareness of conservation practices is a key pillar of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative, making this game a very significant step towards creating ä clear understanding of how powerful hospitality employees are in bringing about change.
He continued: “We have seen the success of gamification to communicate processes and procedures in an interactive manner that results in increased information retention levels. With this in mind, the Hospitality Sustainability Board Game has been created as an engaging yet informative platform for hospitality professionals to better understand energy consumption in hotels across Dubai. Dubai Tourism will continue to place an emphasis on sustainable development of the city’s hospitality sector to drive greener tourism practices.”
Rabih Feghali – Director of Business Development at Roya International added : “We are honored to have been chosen by DTCM and EWS-WWF to assist in the creation of this exciting new initiative. Having been at the forefront of environmental awareness in the regional hospitality industry, we delivered one of the first LEED certified hotels in the UAE, and continue to engage industry stakeholders at all levels to promote sustainable practices. I encourage all hotels in Dubai to participate in the board game; Its fun, interesting and a true learning experience. A special thank you goes out to the Media One Hotel, Shangri-La Dubai, Media Rotana and
Radisson Blu Dubai Marina for their participation in the pilot programme.”
In addition to measuring electricity and water consumption levels in hotels, and ways to reduce it, the Hospitality Sustainability Board Game also helps participants understand which areas of the hotel activities are responsible for consumption, and how to optimise the efficiency of those areas.
Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative (DSTI) is an initiative of Dubai Tourism designed to enable the hospitality industry in Dubai to become more sustainable and efficient in managing their resources. Along with raising awareness, the DSTI also aims to develop a framework to promote sustainability, introduce carbon emission reduction strategies, and share innovative solutions to improve sustainability.