Page 325 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - JANUARY 2025

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.

https://www.wam.ae/article/bhunmfa-uae-highlights-its-approach-promoting