Today's Edition
DAVOS (WAM)
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, highlighted the UAE's approach to promoting sustainability in various economic sectors, particularly in tourism, at Davos 2025.
He emphasised that the UAE has prioritised sustainability to increase the tourism sector's contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP) by launching ambitious initiatives aimed at achieving the right balance between economic growth and preserving the environment, climate, and natural resources. These efforts have solidified the UAE's position as a premier global destination for sustainable tourism.
Al Marri's remarks came during a panel discussion titled "Charting the Course: Sustainable Tourism towards Flexible Economies" at the Forum.
The session, which brought together various leaders and government and private sector stakeholders involved in tourism and sustainability industries, focused on the crucial role of sustainable tourism in supporting economic development and enhancing the flexibility of local economies.
During his intervention, Bin Touq elaborated on the UAE's outstanding experience in creating innovative sustainability strategies and integrating them into the tourism and travel sectors. These efforts, remarkably the 'UAE Tourism Strategy 2031' - introduced in late 2022 - have significantly enhanced the UAE's standing on the global tourism landscape.
The strategy marked a pivotal milestone in driving the sector's growth and development in line with international best practices. Its primary aim is to boost the sector's contribution to the UAE's GDP to AED450 billion by the next decade.
He added that the 'World's Coolest Winter' campaign,' now in its fifth edition, was introduced under the theme 'Green Tourism' as a global model for sustainable tourism. It has played a significant role in highlighting the rich ecological and cultural diversity of the UAE's destinations, while also promoting sustainable domestic tourism and attracting international visitors.
Additionally, it has established new ideas and supports a wide range of domestic tourism offerings, showcasing the uniqueness of attractions across the UAE's seven emirates.
Minister Al Marri reviewed the UAE's key initiatives to ensure the sustainability of the travel and air transport sector, among which is the national roadmap to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation field. This programme aims to produce approximately 700 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) each year by 2030.
It actively supports global efforts to achieve sustainability in aviation and other associated sectors such as tourism, hospitality, trade, and logistics, among others.
Today, the UAE stands as a global hub for air transport. In 2024, the country's airspace set an impressive record by exceeding one million air movements.
The UAE's airports offer services to over 140 million passengers annually, while its hotels accommodated approximately 30 million hotel guests in 2024.
The Minister of Economy added that the UAE remains actively involved in hosting major events and initiatives designed to strengthen its leadership in sustainable aviation sector.
In the next month, Abu Dhabi is set to host the 'Fourth Global Implementation Support Symposium' (GISS 2025), an internationally remarkable platform that seeks to coordinate global endeavours in executing the plans of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in safety, security, and sustainability sectors.
Additionally, the UAE has forged a strategic partnership with the UN World Tourism Organisation to implement the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) by collecting and analysing tourist data in a better and more accurate way.
The session covered various crucial topics aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the tourism sector, including the importance of managing destinations in a sustainable manner to protect the environment and support the growth of local economies.
It explored ways to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors to develop sustainable tourism strategies, shedding light on the government's efforts to adopt innovative practices and initiatives aligning with sustainable development goals.
