The Booming Tourism Industry Faces Sustainability Challenges
With the global travel spending set to exceed $11 trillion by the end of 2025, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the tourism industry is in a robust growth phase. However, the burgeoning demand for travel and tourism also raises significant environmental concerns. The industry’s future is highly contingent upon its ability to mitigate its environmental impact and reduce collective carbon emissions. Sustainable travel is not only crucial for the environment, but also for business development, with 83% of travelers affirming its importance to their travel plans. Fortunately, the industry is making sweeping strides in addressing these environmental challenges, with innovative solutions that redefine global hospitality.
Sustainable Hospitality: A Key Player in Tourism
Hotels, ranging from independent boutiques to global chains, form the backbone of the tourism industry. Their operational methods greatly influence the overall sustainability of the industry. This aspect will soon take center stage at the Sustainable Hospitality Week in Dubai this October, featuring industry leaders, technology startups, and government officials. The event aims to discuss the industry’s future and showcase innovative sustainability initiatives.
Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) World: A Global Platform for Sustainable Innovations
Dubai, home to one of the world’s highest concentrations of five-star hotels, is strategically hosting the Sustainable Hospitality Week and the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) World. Scheduled from 27-29 October 2025 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, FHS World aims to drive meaningful change by discussing sustainable hospitality’s latest trends and innovations. The event recently included the theme of “Sustainable Construction,” acknowledging its crucial role in achieving sustainability goals.
The FHS World brings together over 300 global investors ready to explore business opportunities worth over $2 billion in global hospitality investments, projects and destinations, branding strategies, and sustainable innovation. Tech startups like Vailypoint and Adyen will be among the many participants.
Sustainable Hospitality Week: Driving Change Towards A Sustainable Future
Several strategic events will complement the FHS World during the Sustainable Hospitality Week. The Responsible Hoteliers Summit, with a focus on practical sustainability in hotels, is one such event. Speakers from Accor Hotels, Four Seasons, the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Red Sea Global, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Emirates Green Building Council, among others, will discuss the latest trends, helping hotels worldwide adopt sustainable practices in feasible and realistic ways.
The week will also feature the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards, which highlights the most impressive achievements and important changemakers in sustainable tourism and hospitality. The 2nd annual gala ceremony for these awards will be held in Dubai on October 29, 2025, coinciding with the final day of FHS World.
Technology’s Role in Sustainable Hospitality
Despite hoteliers recognizing the need for more sustainable operations, complexity remains a key challenge. A hotel’s daily operations, from the number of towels washed to the food served to guests and the partners used to source goods, shape its carbon footprint. Without data, sustainable hospitality will remain a challenging goal.
Credibl, an AI-driven tech company, offers a full-stack platform for decarbonization, ESG data management, and supply chain traceability and due diligence. Jitesh Shetty, CEO and Founder of Credibl, will be part of the Future Hospitality Summit, sharing insights from working with hotel engineers driving the sustainability transition. Credibl’s successful track record in the hospitality industry is demonstrated by a case study on The Indian Hotels Company Limited’s (IHCL) use of its Smart Sustainability Stack™ to operationalize its ESG+ framework at scale.
Shetty says, “Dubai has one of the largest numbers of five-star hotels in the world — over 800 properties welcoming 17+ million international visitors in 2023. On the surface, it’s all glamour and grandeur. But the reality is — in most hotels, sustainability begins in the basement, not the boardroom or the front desk. In the basement, engineering directors quietly manage the most critical data — energy, water, waste, and refrigerants. Their daily actions shape a property’s carbon footprint. We love working with these engineering teams — the real sustainability heroes working behind the scenes.”
Innovative and practical tech solutions like this set the standard for the future of sustainable tourism globally.
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