Tag Archives: COP28

On the side lines of COP28, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) launched its new ground-breaking report, ‘Water Roadmap for Travel & Tourism’, revealing total water intensity by global Travel & Tourism continues to decrease as the sector continues to grow. Despite being one the fastest growing sectors, accounting for one in 10 jobs globally and contributing 10.4% of global GDP in 2019, Travel & Tourism’s water usage ranged between 3.5% and 5.8% of global available freshwater, in 2021 and 2019 respectively. While this is a lower share than other key sectors, such as agriculture and food, which accounted for 70% of global water usage, there is more work to be done as growing water scarcity has become one of the most pressing challenges for sustainable development. Today, over 2.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, while 4.2 billion do not have access to safe sanitation services. Water is a vital natural resource, sustaining life on earth, making it an essential asset that must be protected. The report highlights that further progress can be made if Travel & Tourism stakeholders take a series of actions, and sustainable water practices are implemented globally. In a collaborative effort, WTTC worked with Accenture and Oxford Economics to leverage their expertise in data analysis, best practices, and proven methodologies, providing a framework to help the global travel and tourism sector set water targets, reduce their water footprint and increase water resilience. The data is a result of to the partnership between WTTC and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center. According to the research, from 2010 to 2019, Asia Pacific, Americas and the Middle East saw their Travel & Tourism …

Dubai in its commitment to sustainable tourism announced the launch of the Dubai Reef project, one of the world’s largest marine reef developments, marking a pioneering step in the journey towards ecological preservation. In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, the Dubai Reef project will be led by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and founding partner, the Regulatory Committee on Fishing of Living Aquatic Resources in Dubai, in cooperation with Dubai Chambers, the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), and Nakheel. The project is part of the city’s efforts to increase fish stocks, support sustainable fishing and contribute to boosting food security. Dubai Reef project will also play a vital role in reducing carbon emissions and increasing marine biodiversity. As the city continually strives to achieve the objectives outlined in the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, to strengthen Dubai’s profile as a leading sustainable city, the landmark project is set to further consolidate the emirate’s position as one of the top three global cities. HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum highlighted that preserving the environment, safeguarding wildlife and promoting biodiversity stand as core priorities for the UAE, aligned with the strategic initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. His Highness also emphasised that safeguarding the continuity and quality of human life requires a concerted and intensified commitment to launching high-impact projects and championing the adoption of best practices that ensure environmental safety and sustainability for generations to come. “Dubai recognises the critical importance of the environment and is fully committed to its preservation …

COP28 will witness world leaders gathering in the UAE which will open new chapters in tourism. Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Group CEO, Miral shares the importance of this gathering to the tourism sector. “In a few days, the highly anticipated COP28 UAE will convene with world leaders and policy makers right here in the UAE in a bid to accelerate global efforts towards Net Zero and carbon neutral goals. These conversations are more critical than ever for the tourism industry, which is responsible for approximately 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. The UAE has played an increasingly crucial role in the fight against global warming, from committing to Net Zero by 2050 to marking 2023 as the Year of Sustainability. To ensure such endeavours go a long way in creating a positive impact on our people and the planet, our tourism ecosystem must make concerted efforts to keep sustainability high on the agenda and mitigate the overall effects of climate change. It’s inspiring to witness several industry pioneers across Abu Dhabi already rising to this challenge. A comprehensive sustainability framework by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) is enabling industry partners to apply sustainable practices across their operations and pledge towards Net Zero carbon events by 2050. In addition, the opening of Abu Dhabi Airports state-of-the-art Terminal A is spearheading a new chapter in the Emirate’s sustainable economic development. As a key player within the tourism industry, Miral has long been committed to this positive transformation. Sustainability is an integral part of our vision to deliver growth across the leisure, entertainment, and tourism sector. We define our success by creating a positive impact on …

H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Aziz Abdel Hakimov, Minister of Environment, Environmental Protection and Climate Change and responsible for the tourism portfolio of Uzbekistan, and his accompanying delegation. It explored opportunities for cooperation and the development of partnerships in the areas of new economy, sustainability, circular economy, entrepreneurship, and SMEs. H.E. Bin Touq emphasized that the UAE-Uzbekistan relations are strong and characterized by continued growth in various fields, historical ties, geographical proximity, and shared cultural and Islamic values. H.E. Bin Touq said: “Both our countries boast geographical locations through which key markets in Asia and Africa can be accessed. In addition, both markets offer numerous promising opportunities in new and sustainable economic sectors that can be leveraged to build more economic partnerships at the government and private sectors, thus elevating our existing partnership to new levels.” He added: “Our meeting with the Uzbek delegation is an important step forward in strengthening economic cooperation, facilitating dialogue at the private sector level and unlocking new avenues for efforts that support bilateral cooperation in economic sectors of shared interest.” He noted that the meeting is particularly important as it comes ahead of the UAE’s hosting of COP28 in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023. The meeting discussed strengthening of cooperation and exchange of experiences and expertise on sustainable policies for tourism, entrepreneurship, and SMEs development, in addition to exploring opportunities in these sectors that are key to economic growth. Furthermore, H.E. Bin Touq reviewed the advantages offered by the UAE’s business environment to investors and business owners. These include the substantive amendments to the Commercial Companies Law to create a flexible …

The Tower Plaza Hotel Sheikh Zayed Road recently signed the partnership as one of the hospitality partners for the VIP guests arriving at the most crucial event of the year COP28 UAE, scheduled to take place from 30th November to 12th December 2023 at Expo City Dubai which will be a milestone moment when the world will take stock of its progress on the Paris Agreement. This will bring in high level participation from across the globe placing Dubai yet again as one of the most important event hubs in the world. Speaking with TravelTV Middle East Haitham Galal, General Manager of The Tower Plaza Hotel shared,  “COP 28 UAE will be one of the unique conferences happening related to sustainability, environment and climate, this will bring in a lot of visitors across the globe to Dubai.” The first Global Stocktake (GST), will provide a comprehensive assessment of progress since adopting the Paris Agreement. This will help align efforts on climate action, including measures that need to be put in place to bridge the gaps in progress. The COP28 UAE Presidency will work to ensure that the world responds to the GST with a clear plan of action.