Sustainable construction fundamental to retail and hospitality future
Regional industry leaders gather at first ever Retail and Hospitality Construction Summit in Dubai
With major events on the horizon for the GCC, the regional hospitality and tourism industries are expected to have a significant impact on the construction and real estate development sector.
With this in mind, CPI Trade Media hosted its first ever Retail and Hospitality Construction Summit at the Address Hotel in Business Bay today.
Regional developers are showing increased interest in developing mixed-use projects that combine hospitality, entertainment, retail and residential elements, thereby allowing for the diversification of economies away from oil revenues.
Meanwhile, developers are now looking create destinations that will attract international tourists, local visitors and residential tenants.
Dr Russell Brainard – chief sustainability officer at The Red Sea Development Company told delegates that the giga-project is engaging with stakeholders at all levels to achieve the highest levels in sustainability.
“We are committed to hundred percent carbon neutrality, which is an ambitious goal for us – this means that all our power is going to be from renewable energy, we are developing systems with the scientific community to put that carbon that we have used back into the plants so our entire footprint will be carbon neutral and this will be the first time something like this will be done on such a huge scale.”
Sustainable construction was a common thread as summit panellists further explored the key trends in the GCC retail and hospitality sector, and the challenges around green building in GCC and how they can be addressed.
Three panel discussions explored how the construction industry is keeping pace with the changing trends in the retail and hospitality sector, balancing the need for sustainability with consumer demand and utilising technology to create intelligent and responsive retail and hospitality environments.
An interactive session between owners and operators also discussed how their industry partnerships are evolving and addressed how operators must take a more active role in a project’s lifecycle.
News from the event was posted extensively on CPI Trade’s online portals, LinkedIn and Twitter with the #RHSummit2019.