As little as five years ago, Abu Dhabi’s hoteliers went about getting their establishments noticed in a very simple way. Lush furnishings, opulent carpets and the finest marble were the order of the day, with accompanying restaurants building their menus around gold leaf, foie gras and other such morally questionable delicacies. Luxury, it seemed, was everything, regardless of the financial and environmental costs. However, following the introduction of new eco-minded guidelines at the World Green Tourism conference last month, there’s now a new standard for the hospitality industry to aspire to – one that puts environmental responsibility before glittery trinkets and hollow status symbols.
The new ‘Pearl Rating’ system – the brainchild of Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council – will see hotels given a mark out of five to denote the strength of their green credentials, which will sit alongside the existing star rating. Speaking at the three-day conference, Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, head of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, stressed the importance of the guidelines for the city’s future. ‘Green tourism, for many, has been a niche concept,’ he said. ‘Many believe it is best left to those free from the constraints of commercial reality. This forum, I hope, will totally disprove this gross misconception. Green tourism is the new commercial reality.’
But could this really be any more than just a statement of good intentions? A strategic deflection of the green brigade by a city in desperate need of shedding its resource-guzzling image? Well, apparently so, since the very same event also saw plans unveiled for the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort Hotel (main picture), the first property set to be judged under the new Pearl Rating system. Scheduled to be fully completed by 2015, the new hotel pitches itself as part luxury resort, part conservation project, and will eventually offer a number of safari trips through specially constructed habitats, teeming with Arabian and African wildlife.
The ambitious project also includes the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre, an impressive showcase of sustainable design in itself. The building, inspired by the nation’s late, great, nature-loving founder and dedicated to promoting awareness of environmental concerns, harnesses solar power to provide electricity and hot water, and is built from recycled materials, sourced no further than 500km from Al Ain.
All sounds rather impressive, doesn’t it? Still, with a four-Pearl rating expected for the resort, it seems Sheikh Sultan and the ADTA are harbouring more ambitious plans for the city’s future, implicitly laying down the gauntlet to the myriad of hotel operators in the city to wow us with a self-sufficient, fully sustainable five-Pearl facility. And while we don’t expect one to pop up any time soon, with a new title to vie for you can guarantee Abu Dhabi’s existing hotels will be trying their deftest to shrink their carbon footprint. A wind farm on the roof of The Yas Hotel? Stranger things have happened…
To find out more, go to www.estidama.org.
Until then…
Can’t wait for the eco-hotels? Want to make a difference now? Here’s a few simple changes we can all get involved with:
• Most hotels will change your bedding and towels daily – wasting energy and gallons of water in the process – unless you tell them otherwise. Unless you absolutely need fresh sheets, leave a note for housekeeping to tell them not to bother.
• Avoid using the miniature bottles of shampoo and shower gel that are provided in most hotels, and bring your own toiletries instead. Over the course of a week, you’ll have saved a small mountain of waste packaging.
• By pulling the keycard from its door-side holster when you leave the room, you’ll shut off the electricity supply to the myriad of lamps and other power-hungry appliances that guzzle power while you saunter around the city.
