New Approach To Sustainable Tourism Is Being Practiced In Ras Al Khaimah

The city has promised to become the Middle East’s most sustainable destination by 2025.

This new strategy is part of Ras Al Khaimah’s partnership with EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification, and advisory group for travel and tourism. Much more than just tackling single-use plastic and promoting recycling, this strategy aims to promote sustainability across the board.

According to the report, firstly, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and its partners have set policy commitments and then established benchmarks against which progress would be measured.

Secondly, two certification programmes will work to drive sustainability certification for at least 30 tourism businesses, one for the destination and one for businesses.

Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority CEO, Raki Phillips, said, "In an effort to cope with contemporary hot-button issues, like overtourism, the Balanced Tourism approach emphasises preserving a country’s culture and building sustainable communities."

According to him, on this issue, most people usually only talk about the environment but forget about other factors like the local economy, population, and culture.

He says, "We wanted to make sure we were considering everything, from the ecosystem and heritage to businesses."

Inspired by Slovenia, Costa Rica, and Rwanda, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah will not only build its tourism sector with sustainability as a keystone but will also help establish the blueprints for other countries with the goal of sustainable tourism growth without compromising tourism objectives.

As the report points out, Ras Al Khaimah’s economy has a large tourism sector, which accounts for around five percent of its GDP and around ten thousand jobs. However, this success brings with it new issues, like overtourism, population growth, and environmental damage.

In order to counter this problem, the Tourism Authority has put in place guidelines for environmentally friendly hotels that incorporate features like sustainability in landscaping as well as implement rules about food waste reduction.

According to the report, the Wynn Resort, which will open in 2026, has a pioneering approach to sustainability and energy efficiency, aiming for 50 percent renewable energy by 2030. It has already implemented waste management programs that prevent 26 to 100 percent of waste from entering landfills, reduce water consumption, and invest in new waste-to-energy projects.

As the report mentioned, organising events like the COP2023 (Conference of Parties) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will help set this expectation. Working with hotels on value propositions for eco-conscious clients will also help. According to Phillips, it is our goal to make sure that the hospitality partners can get the most from the inventory. "We are talking about a 50 percent five-star inventory."

Projects will not consist of large attractions but rather have a strong focus on sustainability, with a wider range of offerings, such as 50 kilometres of hiking trails and a toboggan ride called Jais Sledder in the mountains, set to open in Q4 2022, and Saij Mountain Lodge, set to open on Jebel Jais in 2023, a sustainable and managed resort featuring lodges made of natural and sustainable materials.

At sea level, the Scallop Ranch at Al Hamra Marina will not only teach the world about the marine ecosystem but also protect the sea from water contamination.

UNESCO has listed four cultural and heritage sites in Ras Al Khaimah on its tentative World Heritage List, making it the most among the Emirates, a report says.

According to the report, "as part of this initiative, Suwaidi Pearls Farm, one of the only farms in the UAE still cultivating pearls by hand, and Al Jazirah Al Hamra, an ancient pearling village of the Al Zaab tribe, are already underway."

It added that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is working with UNESCO experts to restore the village by 2025 using traditional, sustainable materials as well as creating curated cultural tours.

The report concludes that Ras Al Khaimah is pioneering this holistic approach to destination management, not just because it’s the right thing to do. It’s being demanded by its customers, Phillips said. "We know travellers prefer sustainable destinations."

 By Sumita Pawar