The Arabian Travel Market Virtual event began on day two (Tuesday, May 25) under the concept of ‘A new dawn for travel & tourism,' and following the morning hotel and aviation sessions, the focus shifted to sustainability.

"Resilience in travel and tourism is extremely crucial for the future of our business, with rising worries about the sector's influence on the environment," said Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME, Arabian Travel Market.

This is the pressing topic of the moment. Hotels and destinations would have to strike a balance between short-term financial rebound from the epidemic and a mid-to-long-term eco-friendly business plan.”

During one virtual discussion with leading industry sustainability specialists, presenter Harold Goodwin, who is the World Travel Market's Responsible Tourism Advisor, held a session titled Responsible Hospitality in a Perfect Storm.

In his opening remarks, Goodwin solicited feedback from the panel on the environmental problems that hotels will face over the next decade, particularly given that the pandemic has taken a financial toll on hotels, with many focused primarily on existence.

Eric Ricaurte, CEO and Founder of hospitality consultant Greenview, stated, "By 2030, hotels will be required by their stakeholders for being net-zero (emissions), 100 % green energy." So, right now, the issue is managing with the rate of change to get through.”

As per Singapore-based Ricaurte, the answer to keeping up with retrofits or renovations will be determined in part not only by customer demands but also by new potential green guidelines. “Hotels will have to prepare in advance for new rules, assigning sufficient reserve funds through their CAPEX budgets”.

Inge Huijbrechts, global senior vice president sustainability, security, and corporate communications at Radisson Hotel Group, remarked on assessing their sustainability performance and being truthful about the findings: "All significant hospitality businesses have already been monitoring their (sustainable) productivity, and we've all established emissions reduction target."

“One must remember how each hotel is unique; there is such a broad range you have resorts, boutiques, expensive service, and restricted service that an absolute amount does not necessarily signify anything.

“I strongly believe that we ought to develop a framework with agreed-upon defined sustainability criteria and that we should fairly sharing that information.” If tourists are interested, there is also a very nice framework developed in partnership with Cornell, in which all necessary information is entered into a database per the desired location.”

Shifting from traditional hospitality and brick-and-mortar resorts, the ecotourism business which is predicted to expand at an 8 % CAGR in the medium - long term, has been developing, with certain parts, such as "glamping," even increasing during the epidemic.

A unique on-demand seminar led by James Wrenn, associate director, Colliers Hotels MENA, examined alternative lodging - one of the fastest expanding touristic options under the theme, ‘From luxury cabins to environmental tents.'

Colliers attributes the emergence of the Eco, Wellness, Agri, and Adventure (EWAA) tourism business to rising demand for self-sustaining housing alternatives, changes in people's lifestyles, and growing awareness of the environmental effect of tourism.

With several advancements underway, the MENA area is developing itself as a prominent destination for EWAA visitors. While the original EWAA initiatives were focused on individual luxury desert resorts, primarily in the UAE, we are seeing the UAE, KSA, and Oman spearheading the growth in this sector with a variety of projects and government master plans.

In terms of financial success, panelist Chris Nader, adviser at Experiential Consulting, stated, "Ras Al Khaimah's Jebel Jais tented resort had exceeded its budget (last year), that had been established before the epidemic." Local families appreciated the higher-end, bigger tents with more area for distancing and privacy.

The GBTA Conference @ ATM 2021 was also on the schedule at ATM Virtual 2021, and that was a fitting way to cap the three-day online event. Prepare yourselves! It's safe! Take a trip!

This “big picture” segment looked at how prepared the region is for its come back to international travel, examining the GBTA's BTI Business Travel Outlook for the Middle East, industry forecasts, and how governments answered to the pandemic with their readiness, in aspects of border checks, travel restrictions, and the road map out from the pandemic.

Iyad Rasbey, executive director of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; Catherine Logan, regional vice president — EMEA, GBTA; and Derek Sadubin, managing director of CAPA — Centre for Aviation were among the highlighted speakers.