The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) held its 5th panel discussion for the year 2019 on the topic of “Sustainable Tourism in the UAE: Challenges and Opportunities”, graciously hosted by the Modul University in Dubai. The panel discussion aims to foster an open conversation about all aspects of tourism from hospitality, eco/wildlife-tourism, clean energy, sustainable mobility, wastage in the hospitality sector and green tourism awards. 

 

The expert panelists included Mr. Yousef Lootah (Executive Director, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai), Mr. Norberto Cibien (Managing Director, Accenture Middle East), Dr. Ana Stranjancevic (BBA Program Director, Modul University), Mr. Omar Souab (General Manager, Sofitel Hotel) and Mr. Greg Simkins (Conservation Manager, Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve).

Tourism is one of the world’s fastest growing industries and is a major source of income for many countries. However, just like any other form of economic development, tourism also plays a major part in the ecological, social and cultural conservation of a nation or region. The growing awareness around these issues has introduced the world to trends such as ‘nature-based tourism’, ‘ecotourism’ and ‘cultural tourism’. 

 

In the year 2018, the UAE received 16.66 million international visitors. It is home to 717 hotels and hotel apartment buildings, and it has already received 8.36 million visitors from January to June of 2019.  (Dubai Statics Centre). As per the UAE governments latest data, the total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the UAE’s GDP was AED 159.1 billion (USD 43.3 billion) which is 12.1 per cent of GDP. It is forecast to rise by 4.9 per cent per annum to AED 264.5 billion (USD 72 billion) which would be 12.4 per cent of GDP in 2027.

 

The travel and tourism sector also directly supports 317,500 jobs in the UAE which is 5.4 per cent of total employment. This is expected to rise by 2.4 per cent per annum to 410,000 jobs which would be 5.9 per cent of total employment in 2027.  Investment in the travel and tourism sector was AED 26.2 billion (USD 7.1 billion) which amounted to 7 per cent of the total investments made. It is forecast to rise by 11 per cent per annum over the next 10 years to AED 74.5 billion (USD 20.3 billion) in 2027 which would be 11.2 per cent of the total investments.

 

With tourism playing such an enormous part of our economy and national interest, and with UAE being leaders in the field in the region and globally, it is necessary that UAE is also taking the lead in sustainable tourism. The private sector has a crucial role in this industry, as it is predominantly run by them. As a UN accredited organisation, EEG constantly strives to emphasize the importance on UN SDG 17: Partnerships and collaborations to achieve the Goal as a crucial and necessary step in all environmental efforts to attain sustainable development, the panel discussion today elucidated this through the active involvement of all the sectors of society in a conversation on sustainability. 

 

The panel discussions, earlier known as ‘community lectures’, are a platform that was originally rolled out in 1992 and has successfully conducted 185 such sessions till date. EEG is proud to continue these sessions and covers important topics every year, with an impressive line-up of speakers and a strong attendance. The session bolstered knowledge on the fight against climate change in the region by bringing together sustainably conscious global citizens, who are interested in learning more and understanding about the developments and advancements being made with regards to this global problem. Sustainability tourism requires balancing the growth in the demand by tourists and the supply of the resources. It also requires the implementation of a strong national authority to plan and coordinate long-term strategies to set targets to monitor the performance for all entities in the industry in promoting sustainability in the hospitality sector. Lastly, sustainable tourist policies are required to engage the support of local businesses. 

 

“The UAE has always played a leading role in the region in the tourism industry by investing and developing the country to become a world attraction. Therefore, it is now time for UAE to also step in as pioneer to lead the way once again in the industry by embracing sustainability at the core of the tourism sector” – Ms. Habiba Al Mar’ashi