LONDON: Tourism and hospitality officers from all over the world gathered for a summit within the British capital to discover methods to handle, function, and develop a trusted and sustainable tourism and hospitality trade with a give attention to assuaging hurt to the setting.
Delegates on the RESET Sustainably: Tourism, Hospitality and Travel Summit, which was organized by UK-based hospitality and tourism improvement firm TLC Harmony on Friday, mentioned a number of important sustainability points together with financial influence, biodiversity, blockchain funds, advertising, and the character of ladies’s financial energy in usually figuring out the vacation spot for holidays.
Dr. Omar Al-Attas, head of environmental sustainability on the Red Sea Development Company, mentioned it was necessary to attend such summits for the aim of sharing, inspiring, and studying on the similar time.
“We are working on so many different levels, and we have achieved great levels that we would love to share with the rest of the world,” he informed Arab News. “The protection of the environment of this world cannot be a mandate of one entity or one country, it is a collaborative work for all of us to be able to achieve that goal.”
Al-Attas mentioned he shared the efforts of the Red Sea undertaking since its inception, which was to make sure all of the pillars of sustainability have been embedded in every stage. The firm had additionally commissioned a number of environmental research to evaluate the several types of ecosystems to have the ability to monitor and defend them, he added.
“We have identified all the types of coral reefs, and the health and the varieties of them all around the lagoons, and very soon, we’re going to be also releasing our data related to the Amala destination,” he mentioned, referring to the land and property megaproject that types a part of Saudi Vision 2030.
Al-Attas mentioned they’ve recognized greater than 240 species of fish, in addition to dolphins and dugongs, to make sure that the event initiatives don’t have an effect on “all the lovely parts of this ecosystem.” In addition to the give attention to marine life, their research have additionally recognized greater than 25,000 birds within the space.
“For the Red Sea Development Company, we made sure that we are aligned with the Saudi Vision definitely in all its pillars, when it comes to the regenerative tourism, and also touching on the environment, as well as the social implications,” he mentioned.
![](https://www.arabnews.com/sites/default/files/2022/09/21/3452746-1502877032.jpg)
“If you talk about the Saudi green initiatives, we have now multiple initiatives within that program, from the protection of the terrestrial marine (life), where what we do as part of our monitoring system, how can we also work in (the) announcement of marine protected areas within our lagoons and beyond to help us to achieve all of these goals,” he mentioned.
The Red Sea Development Company’s mannequin is aligned with the Saudi authorities’s targets and people of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, he mentioned.
“We cannot work alone, we have to work together in a collaborative way and exchange information, knowledge, the efforts and achievements as well. That will help all of us reach the goals that we have put for ourselves, which is the protection of this globe and this world and also the environment as well,” Al-Attas mentioned.
The inaugural RESET summit was held in May final 12 months because the world was rising from COVID-19. The tourism trade, which accounts for 10 % of world GDP, was severely hit by the pandemic and about 200 million folks misplaced their jobs, mentioned Nicki Page, founding father of TLC.
![](https://www.arabnews.com/sites/default/files/2022/09/21/3452751-1833044763.jpg)
“We felt that we needed to do something, and although we didn’t set up to make RESET a global annual event, that seems to be where it’s going,” she mentioned, including that this 12 months that they had audio system from all over the world, together with Saudi Arabia, Germany, Denmark and Guatemala.
TLC launched the Greenhouse Gas and Biodiversity Impact, or GABI, measuring instrument and the Planet Tip through the summit, which help the measurement of hospitality and resort operational supply throughout the primary local weather influence indicators. This locations a monetary worth of the influence per resort room evening, per diner, or per services or products.
“The tool puts an actual economic value on the harm that it has done to nature, and we simply ask that we put a little bit back, and that the ‘Planet Tip’ allows a consumer, with the business, to join together on a journey to make us good for nature, because we certainly love travel, and we certainly don’t want to stop enjoying beautiful places, and gorgeous hotels,” Page mentioned.
She mentioned that one of many classes targeted on ladies as they normally select the place the household goes on vacation and it was necessary to know their position within the sustainable journey selection.
Marilu Sicoli, senior accomplice at London-based architectural agency Foster + Partners, spoke concerning the distinctive megaprojects which can be impressed by nature they’ve been engaged on with the Red Sea Development Company since 2018.
She highlighted their work on Shourayrah Island, one in all 22 out of greater than 90 that’s being rehabilitated as a part of their grasp plan. She additionally spoke of the work carried out within the Southern Dunes, one in all two inland lodges within the desert and near the Red Sea, in addition to progress on Ummahat Al-Shaykh, which is one other resort with hyper luxurious villas.
“We’ve been quite busy in that sense, and really tried to keep the vision and the light touch in all these beautiful sights,” Sicoli mentioned.
She added that structure as half sustainable improvement was “absolutely key to everything and a good design is definitely the key to succeed in this incredible, ambitious operation that the Red Sea is putting forward, so I think we’ve been very fortunate to be part of this, and our designs are definitely responding to this ambition.”