Delegates attending the upcoming Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2008 are being encouraged to join ranks and help reduce global warming. Long-distance swimmer, Lewis Gordon Pugh, also known as ‘Aqua Al Gore’, is set to reel in travel and tourism experts, decision makers and professionals with his keynote address on global climate change at AHIC 2008.

This comes in the wake of news that Dubai hoteliers arte being particularly asked to look at energy-saving measures with many properties clocking up 225% more energy usage than their European counterparts.

Pugh is set to highlight the dangers that the world faces; “We stand at a critical point in the history of the planet. Climate change is the greatest threat to life as we know it. It is serious and it's been caused by man.

“Luckily, the end has yet to be written and this is where we come in. The hotel investment sector can help. The steps which we take over the next few years will determine the future of the natural world and the sustainability of mankind.”

Conference co-organiser, MEED’s Edmund O’Sullivan said that this year’s conference is set to feature a session on Green Development which will look at how to develop a hotel in an eco-friendly way.

“If we start outlining simple steps now, it will not be long before industry leaders implement measures en-masse. This is what we need to ensure strict environmental standards are met.”

He said that AHIC is committed to ‘doing it’s bit’ to help reduce global warming and have teamed up with NativeEnergy, one of the world’s leading providers of quality carbon offsets. He indicated that AHIC 2008’s conference space and accommodation has been designed to help the carbon neutral drive.

He added that although IPCC (United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) estimates that the region’s contribution towards global emissions to be less than 6 percent, the UAE alone is on the top 50 countries list for carbon emissions[3].

“Pugh is on a journey to fight against climate change and as a recognised international ambassador we believe that AHIC 2008 provides a great platform to communicate this crisis to the 1,000-plus hotel, travel and tourism industry,” O’Sullivan said.

Pugh is set to tackle this global industry concern on the third-day of AHIC 2008, May 5. He will highlight that the global climate change poses a huge threat for sustainable tourism and share what he has seen firsthand on his long distance swims.

WTO forecasts 68.5 million international arrivals to the Middle East by 2020 and all are potential contributors to carbon emission.

The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference will run from May 3-5, 2008 at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah Convention Centre and is jointly organised by The Bench and MEED.