Dubai Hotel Travel

Dubai hotels are renowned worldwide for being glitzy and glamorous – but not often for being green.

That is changing fast as the emirate once famed for proposing underwater hotels and air-conditioned beaches approaches its target of reducing the carbon footprint of its top hotels by almost a fifth.

These days the emirate is taking a far more measured approach to hotel development and some operators are even managing to boost their bottom line by reducing their environmental impact.

Raki Phillips, the area director of sales and marketing at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, said it had managed to reduce costs by Dh3.5 million (US$952,769) last year by introducing eco-friendly measures.

These included changing the lighting on the outside of the building. This cost Dh1.5m, but the hotel got a return on its investment after one year, Mr Phillips said. (more…)

11% increase in hotel establishment guests in the first three quarters

26 % increase in guest nights and 19% increase revenues in Jan-Sep 2001

Hotel establishments played host to 6.64 million guests in Jan-Sep period

Bin Sulayem says achievement due to aggressive promotion and marketing

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) announced the emirate’s tourism industry’s impressive performance in the first three quarters of 2011, thereby consolidating the position of Dubai on the world tourism map.

Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, DTCM Director General, said: “The stellar performance of Dubai’s tourism industry is a testimony to the aggressive promotional and marketing drive that the department has been pursuing to enhance the number of tourists to the destination by tapping established and emerging markets across the world. The impressive gains made during the January-September period this year also reflect the inspiring public-private sector partnership to tap the tourism potential of Dubai.” (more…)

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing’s (DTCM) representative office for the UK and Ireland has been presented with a trophy for being the Best Tourist Board at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards held in London recently.

This is the first time that DTCM has bagged this award beating destinations like Australia, Barbados, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK

The London-based representative office has also been presented with an ‘Investors in People’ Award in recognition of excellence in managing, developing, training and motivating people in an organization. DTCM is the only National Tourist Board in the UK and the only organization with in the Tourism and Leisure sector within London to be bestowed with this award.

Investors in People recognition is an international endorsement by a professional UK body that sets a level of good practice for improving an organisations progress through its people. (more…)

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) had launched the first-ever Dubai Green Tourism Award in June this year as part its commitment towards sustainable tourism and incorporate best environmental practices within the booming tourism sector.

Through the pioneering award programme, it wants the tourism industry stakeholders to demonstrate a firm commitment towards reducing the impact of their business on the environment.

Hotels and hotel apartments were invited to participate in the award programme and their business practices were assessed for a wide range of environmental, economic and social issues, including energy saving, nature conservation and community involvement. (more…)