The Sustainable City: Dubai

Dubai is one of the tourist capitals of the world. With their main source of economic income being tourism, the city is always looking to expand this industry. There are over 600 hotel/hotel apartment buildings in Dubai, and the number of hotel rooms is well over 100,000. With extravagent and luxurious ammenities, Dubai seems like the ultimate getaway.

However, these expansive hotels and resorts use (and unfortunately waste) an extreme amount of energy. To combat this, Dubai created its first sustainable development, The Sustainable City. This development was built under the principle that the luxurious Dubai experience and increased sustainable procedures aren't mutually exclusive. This development will contain permanent homes and villas for Dubai residents. The Sustainable City is still in Phase 1 of construction, but will house 2700 residents in 500 villas upon completion.

However, the desire for sustainable travel urged Diamond Developer CEO, Faris Saeed to create resorts within the city. In January of this year, The Sustainable City announced that it will begin work on an entirely sustainable hotel, marking Phase 2 of construction. This hotel, called Hotel Indigo, will run on renewable solar energy, source food from a nearby seasonal farm, and have buses powered by clean energy sourced for its guests to use.

Hotel Indigo holds a lot of promises for sustainable travel opportunities. Saeed says of the development, "We have created a living, breathing, sustainable community that is cost-effective and eco-friendly for over 300 families, and after proving that the concept is feasible and successful, we look forward to commencing phase 2 of The Sustainable City, with Hotel Indigo representing the first of four buildings that we are adding.”

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