Al Noman: Classification will boost performance in the hotel sector.
Sharjah - The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has announced that a hotel classification law will be brought into force at the beginning of next year, following resolution No.16 of 2007 issued by 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 classification standards, taking into account law No.2-1999 and its regulations for establishing the Sharjah Executive Council, the Emiri Decree No. 10 of 2007 for establishing the SCTDA, and on the basis of the Executive Council's approval of the proposal offered by the SCTDA Chairman, Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi,
The Executive Council has authorized the SCTDA, by virtue of article No.2, to oversee the implementation of this law, and legalized by virtue of article No.3, to amend this law to meet the requirements of any future economic or tourist development, provided that the amendment(s) shall be developed in coordination with the concerned parties. Article No.4 has given the chairman of the SCTDA the authority to issue the orders and regulations to implement this law.
H.E. Mr. Mohamed A. Al Noman, Director General of the SCTDA, confirmed that all the hotel complexes in Sharjah will be subject to classification as from the beginning of January 2008, stressing the importance of such a move to the development of the hotel sector, which is the most vital tourism infrastructure in Sharjah and will ensure that high quality services are provided within the hotels sector.
"Since commencing the project, the SCTDA has conducted in-depth research through contracting with a dedicated consultant of local, regional and international markets. We studied the hotel classification standards in different countries, and subsequently provided local hoteliers with detailed information on the project, its objectives and the benefits it holds for Sharjah's tourism industry", he added.
Al Noman explained: "We commenced the hotel classification project by means of an inventory of Sharjah hotels, resorts and hotel apartments; the data we collected has been used as a main source for setting new standards and rules to classify the hotel sector, as the authority has developed special new standards to classify hotels and hotel apartments. These new standards combine international standards with the local requirements. The SCTDA held separate meetings with hoteliers to inform them of the grade they are entitled to and discussed with them the importance of hotel classification, as these hotels are part and parcel of Sharjah's tourism sector. Hoteliers were given the opportunity to comply with the rules, either by accepting the status-quo classification or by requesting an upgrade, for which they had to fulfill certain requirements within a pre-determined time schedule".
Al Noman extended his thanks to all hoteliers in Sharjah for their productive cooperation in the evaluation of their efforts, assuring them that the classification process was flexible throughout all the phases, and expressed his hope that it would would result in the desired quality leap in the emirate's tourism sector.
"Hoteliers have shown a positive response and have cooperated, especially in the final phases of the project. They have now been informed of their hotel classifications, and the SCTDA has given convenient deadlines for hoteliers to comply with the relevant requirements, and they are now working to upgrade their classes as per the standards set by the SCTDA", Al Noman added.
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For further information, please contact:
Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority
Media Department
Tel: 00971 6 5566777
Fax: 00971 6 5563000
MeeA Parkins
SAHARA PR
Tel: +971 4 3298996
Fax: +971 4 3298995
E-mail: meea@saharagcc.com
© Press Release 2007
