Tourism Acts As A Positive Force For The Environment In MENA
Guests are not demanding, but expecting to be in a hotel that is not mined full of environmental issues," said Otto Kurzendorfer, General Manager at Dubai-based JA Jebel Ali Resort.
In 2015, environmental sustainability ranked for the first time among the top ten drivers that brought guests back to Rotana’s properties, according to Christiane Abou Zeidan, Group Director of Environment, Health and Safety at Abu Dhabi-based hospitality chain, Rotana.
“30% of our guests explicitly inquire for performance against sustainability-related criteria,” Zeidan said. Customers and tour-operating companies assess these criteria via a combination of independent auditor visits and voluntarily transparent surveys that properties themselves complete. “Based on their findings or our responses, they will give us business—or not,” said Zeidan.
Entrepreneurs find the sustainability market ripe for innovation and profit
Globally, experts agree that property-specific or micro-level metrics and figures detailing food waste are necessary
Saudi Arabian entrepreneurial passions are beginning to spark in the sustainable food management space, currently a largely untapped niche for local innovation.
Globally, experts agree that property-specific or micro-level metrics and figures detailing food waste are necessary to further develop the sustainable food management movement.
Fresh (Food service impact Rating for Environmentally Sustainable Hospitality events) is a global first-of-its-kind metric developed by Sanaa Pirani, a Jeddah-based hospitality research expert. Published in 2016 as a Cornell University Centre for Hospitality research tool, it evaluates the sustainability of food service events within the hospitality industry.