Sharjah, Sept.19th, 2007 (WAM) -- The Sharjah Commerce and TourismDevelopment Authority (SCTDA) has announced that a hotel classificationlaw will be brought into force at the beginning of next year.
The law comes in impelemntation of resolution No.16 of 2007 issuedby the Executive Council regarding the classification of Sharjah hotels,resorts and hotel apartments and the approval of the SCTDA Board of Directors of the mechanisms to implement this law.
The Sharjah Executive Council has decided to activate the hotel classificationstandards, taking into account law No.2-1999 and its regulations for establishingthe Sharjah Executive Council, the Emiri Decree No. 10 of 2007 for establishingthe SCTDA, and on the basis of the Executive Council's approval of theproposal offered by the SCTDA Chairman, Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi,The Executive Council has authorized SCTDA, by virtue of article No.2,to oversee the implementation of this law, and legalized by virtue ofarticle No.3, to amend this law to meet the requirements of any futureeconomic or tourist development, provided that the amendment(s) shallbe developed in coordination with the concerned parties. Article No.4has given the chairman of the SCTDA the authority to issue the ordersand regulations to implement this law. Mohamed A. Al Noman, Director General of the SCTDA, confirmedthat all the hotel complexes in Sharjah will be subject to classificationas from the beginning of January 2008, stressing the importance of sucha move to the development of the hotel sector, which is the most vitaltourism infrastructure in Sharjah and will ensure that high quality servicesare provided within the hotels sector. "Since commencing the project, the SCTDA has conducted in-depth researchthrough contracting with a dedicated consultant of local, regional andinternational markets. We studied the hotel classification standards indifferent countries, and subsequently provided local hoteliers with detailedinformation on the project, its objectives and the benefits it holds forSharjah's tourism industry", he added. Al Noman explained: "We commenced the hotel classification project bymeans of an inventory of Sharjah hotels, resorts and hotel apartments,the data we collected has been used as a main source for setting new standardsand rules to classify the hotel sector, as the authority has developedspecial new standards to classify hotels and hotel apartments. These newstandards combine international standards with the local requirements. The SCTDA held separate meetings with hoteliers to inform them of thegrade they are entitled to and discussed with them the importance of hotelclassification, as these hotels are part and parcel of Sharjah's tourismsector. Hoteliers were given the opportunity to comply with the rules,either by accepting the status-quo classification or by requesting anupgrade, for which they had to fulfill certain requirements within a pre-determinedtime schedule". Al Noman extended his thanks to all hoteliers in Sharjah for their productivecooperation in the evaluation of their efforts, assuring them that theclassification process was flexible throughout all the phases, and expressedhis hope that it would would result in the desired quality leap in theemirate's tourism sector. "Hoteliers have shown a positive response and have cooperated, especiallyin the final phases of the project. They have now been informed of theirhotel classifications, and the SCTDA has given convenient deadlines forhoteliers to comply with the relevant requirements, and they are now workingto upgrade their classes as per the standards set by the SCTDA", Al Nomanadded.
