The first of 110 signs which classify 63 hotels and 47 hotel apartment facilities within Abu Dhabi emirate has gone up outside the five-star Emirates Palace as the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority’s (ADTA) classification system rolls out.
ADTA chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, unveiled the new graphic signage which greatly differentiates it from conventional five-star visuals.
“This unique, sustainable classification scheme has been produced in collaboration with the private sector and demonstrates how, together, stakeholders can deliver destination integrity,” said Sheikh Sultan.
All hotels and hotel apartments have been classified with hotels categorised on a sliding scale of one to five stars, and hotel apartments as either deluxe, superior or standard.
“We have received positive feedback for the scheme from the international travel trade which has welcomed it as a major stride forward in delivering destination confidence,” explained Nasser Al Reyami, director tourism standards, ADTA.
“The system delivers consistency to tour operators selling the destination, successfully manages the expectations of our respected visitors and ultimately ensures a level of quality performance from all the emirate’s accommodation providers.
“The system also gives hotel investors a framework for property design in that they can now tailor their developments to specific categories of guests.”
The product of two years of consistent co-operation with the emirate’s growing hospitality sector, the system has been bench-marked against global well known destinations and scoring systems.
“Our studies revealed that throughout the entire industry, classification systems were either mandatory or based on scoring methodology and often resulted in disappointing gaps between theory and reality.
“We seized the advantage of learning from others to create a best-in-class system, with fair and transparent implementation mechanisms and one which is geared to delivering quality throughout the entire hospitality chain,” said Al Reyami.
The ADTA system combines both mandatory and scoring methodologies to deliver a quality standardisation system which is aimed at developing industry standards and procedures, enhancing tourism standards and encouraging their continuous improvement.
And five value-added categories have been added – environmental issues, special needs, comprehensive detailed standards, consideration for cultural tourism sustainability and implementation planning.