Shurooq: How to build an eco-tourism ecosystem

While the coronavirus pandemic has been our reality for a year and half, the need for more responsible and sustainable practices in business, in tourism, and in daily life has been highlighted for much longer. The pandemic’s outbreak upended the global tourism landscape, and along with the challenges, the travel and tourism industries have been offered a huge opportunity to rethink strategies with a strong focus on sustainability. The opportunities to innovate, think outside the box, and incorporate responsible practices in this sector are more than ever.

Here in Sharjah and at Shurooq, our developmental goals stem from a clear understanding of maintaining harmony and a balance with our natural environment, which is diverse and steeped in history. And, therefore, since the formation of Shurooq in 2009, our organisation has been guided by the vision of Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to attract investments and guide businesses to create a tourism ecosystem that allows investors to our emirate travel and invest responsibly to natural areas that conserves our natural environments and improves the well-being of local people.

Shurooq’s investment into eco-tourism destinations like the Mleiha Archaeological and Eco-tourism destination and Al Noor Island, as well as eco-hospitality retreats like, the Sharjah Collection by Shurooq and managed by Mysk by Shaza, which includes the Mysk Al Badayer Retreat, Mysk Kingfisher Retreat, Mysk Al Faya Retreat, and Mysk Moon Retreat – the fourth eco-luxury resort to join the collection earlier this year, in addition to destinations like the Heart of Sharjah historical district and The Chedi Al Bait Sharjah managed by GHM Hotels, which are dedicated to preserving the Emirati heritage and culture and bringing it to life for tourists and visitors from the UAE and the world.    The crucial lesson we have learned from COVID-19 is that instead of practicing a herd mentality and looking at short-term gains, we need trend setters across market sectors, who are driven by innovation, technology and a deep sense of respect for our natural world.

The Mysk Moon Retreat, an eco-luxury resort, opened earlier this year

At Shurooq, our outlook towards the present and future of investments in Sharjah is always changing in response to the rapid disruptions in the world. Our vision was to always create new ideas, new experiences, redefined concepts and merge those values with our rich Emirati culture and significant history and natural beauty of Sharjah.

The House of Wisdom is a testament to this vision. We wanted to create and develop a library that redefined the concept of libraries in the world, hence we launched the region’s first of its kind library of the future on December 2020, the House of Wisdom. Built alongside The Scroll, these landmarks not only symbolised Sharjah’s World Book Capital 2019 title, but also symbolised our dedication and commitment to continue at redefining experiences, be it investments or tourism.

We are committed to raising Sharjah’s international profile as a hub for sustainable tourism, as to continue to lead the regional and global eco-tourism drive by creating new opportunities for people to travel and holiday responsibly. What technologies is Shurooq incorporating to help to build Sharjah’s tourism and hospitality offering?

Technology, innovation, and collaboration are powerful enablers steering Shurooq on the way forward, as the world explores new ways to build travel. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have been increasing our focus on emerging technologies like Cloud-based services, and Artificial Intelligence, among others, to offer virtual tours of all our destinations, increased speed of access to information and empowering our consumers to better assess the sustainability of their travel choices.

We have incorporated the internet of things (IoT) as a key driver allowing our hotel operators, GHM Hotels and Mysk by Shaza, as well as Shurooq’s leisure destinations to harness the ability of intuitive technologies to optimise internal processes and deliver superior customer experiences that uphold the best international health and safety standards. We have also optimised our digital communication channels to boost our customer outreach, by making our destinations, services and facilities available to them at their fingertips.

Through employing AI technologies, Shurooq has quickly enhanced the level or personalisation we offer across our destinations, incorporating customer demand and feedback to tailor their experiences as well as speeding up our response timelines even in the absence of staff.

What are some trends you see for the sector over the next few years?

Talking about trends, 2020 was the year of staycations for the UAE, with domestic tourism spending in the country going as high as AED 41 billion. As a result, our first federal domestic tourism campaign to increase the UAE’s domestic tourism contribution to more than AED80 billion, titled World’s Coolest Winter, was launched in December last year.

This upward trend will continue growing in 2021, as predicted in a PwC report.

Lastly, we will of course see a gradual and accelerating return of more classical patterns of tourism, with individual tourism arrivals recovering first, and MICE tourism perhaps taking a little longer.

Al Noor Island is a 45,470-sq-m eco-leisure destination by Shurooq

Investments in tourism technology will also drive this growth substantially, especially as the world continues to move rapidly towards digital integration to sustain their adaptability to the ongoing global changes. Integration of digital solutions such as cloud-based services and remote working, which were extensively accelerated during the pandemic, will effectively optimise direct communication with stakeholders and customers and boost continuity of businesses, hospitality management companies and tour operators locally and region-wide.

With more than 10 million vaccine doses successfully administered, the UAE is the world’s second most vaccinated country, with 52.2 percent of its population fully vaccinated, and is currently one of the leading nations in the world for its vaccine program and border control, which has ensured the complete safety and protection of its residents and citizens as well as managed to further attract investors and tourists from all over the world. We at Shurooq continue to leverage such achievements by strategically demonstrating our resilient growth for our business partners and stakeholders who are investing in Sharjah’s tourism sector.

We work on demonstrating sustained growth by growing and developing our business digital infrastructure through launching a number applications and smart solutions across our destinations and operations which boost confidence amongst investors push for new business and partnership opportunities. I believe that the digital integration of our tourism destinations will continue to push new long-term business opportunities across a wide range of other sectors and verticals in Sharjah, which also continue to witness progressive growth and interests by businesses and SMEs in the UAE and the region.

From robotics, artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things, developing expertise and capabilities in advanced technologies will propel Sharjah forward as a leading manufacturing hub in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and contribute to the growing numbers which the UAE continues to witness in its tourism industry.

Travellers worldwide looking to enjoy a holiday with absolute peace of mind will certainly be taking advantage of the safe environment and excellent global connectivity, and thanks to our offerings and business model, we are directly contributing to strengthening Sharjah’s position as one of the top tourism and investment destinations in MENA.

Also, like I said earlier, the world needs socially-conscious trendsetters in both public and private sectors who will synergise and collaborate to popularise tourism trends and practices that will encourage people around the world to travel responsibly and in a sustainable fashion.

With the devastating impact of climate change already being felt the world over and the threat of future pandemic outbreaks, making sustainability the cornerstone of life and business is the only way we can leave behind a healthy world full of opportunity for our future generations. For the tourism sector as well, sustainability and eco-friendly practices need to be the norm, not just a trend. 

How do you see Shurooq’s role in developing the sector evolving over the medium term?

Working in close collaboration with SCTDA to firmly put the emirate on the world tourism map, Shurooq has been on a mission to reinforce and strengthen the emirate’s standing as an ideal sustainable tourism destination underpinned by its cultural heritage.

After delivering the House of Wisdom project in Q4 of 2020, we are currently working on a portfolio of large-scale leisure, real estate, retail and tourism projects, which include Maryam Island – a Dh4.5-billion mixed-use development located in downtown Sharjah overlooking the Arabian Sea, the Sharjah Sustainable City, and the Avenues Mall Sharjah.

We are also developing new large-scale tourism and hospitality projects in Khorfakkan, Kalba, Al Dhaid and Mleiha that will provide nature-inspired experiences in the emirate’s central and eastern regions. 

Reinforcing the strength and resilience of Sharjah’s economy, these projects are all committed to the emirate’s vision to promote ‘green’ investments and tourism, while also creating jobs and enabling expansion of businesses to new territories.

Today, Shurooq leads a diversified portfolio of infrastructure projects valued at more than Dh10 billion covering an area of more than 12.4 million sq m across Sharjah’s western, central and eastern regions. These projects facilitate Sharjah’s policy of economic diversification, in line with UAE’s growth strategy, and enhances the long-term investment prospects for businesses, SMEs and start-ups across several sectors.