The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority is developing a new hotel ratings system that will include how efficiently water and energy is being used on the property, it said.
According to an article published yesterday in Al Ittihad, The National's Arabic sister newspaper, the Estidama Pearl Rating System for buildings, which "encourages water, energy and waste minimisation, local material use and aims to improve supply chains for sustainable and recycled materials and products" is being considered for inclusion in the new system, said Nasser Al Reyami, director of tourism standards at TCA Abu Dhabi.
The current system classifies hotels and resorts on a sliding scale of one to five stars, and hotel apartments are classified as either standard, superior or deluxe, according to the TCA Abu Dhabi website.
“An upgrade to this one-of-a-kind system is now in the pipeline.
“This soon-to-be-launched system will incorporate several new aspects, including a category for exceptional properties, which are deemed to be superior to the normal five-star criteria, will introduce new categories such as beach hotels and airport hotels, and will also absorb TCA Abu Dhabi’s Green Hotel guidelines,” the website says.
Mr Al Reyami said the authority was working with Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council to create the guidelines.
TCA Abu Dhabi has been running workshops on green hotels and sustainability practices including energy efficiency technology, maintenance of air-conditioning systems, measurement of energy and water use, waste recycling and indoor air quality management.
Mr Al Reyami said that the proposed system would also include any health and safety risks that needed to be identified and reported and mechanisms for the reporting of environmental performance regarding water, waste and energy.
TCA Abu Dhabi has also been working with the environment and health and safety authorities to improve the health and safety framework for the tourism industry, according to Mr Al Reyami.
He also said that a seafood sustainability study had been completed and that hotels would be instructed not to serve certain types of threatened fish species in their restaurants.
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