DUBAI (Reuters) - Saving the planet does not mean the end of staying in the lap of luxury, the executive chairman of hotel operator Jumeirah said on Sunday.
The Dubai-based group, which expects to be operating 57 hotels around the globe by the end of 2011, is looking at rewarding environmentally conscious guests with loyalty points.
Gerald Lawless said Jumeirah is making efforts to ensure the hotel chain's iconic properties, which include the Gulf Arab emirate's sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel and the Essex House hotel in New York, are as energy efficient as possible.
Lawless said travelers are an easy target for governments trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming and taxing them is counter-productive.
"Whether Al Gore is right or wrong is now irrelevant. The issue will not go away. (It is) vital for the tourism and travel industry that we really do face up to this," Lawless said.
The hotel group, which employs 12,500 staff around the globe, should "unashamedly sell luxury."
But by measuring measuring its carbon footprint it can also develop choices for its guests to encourage them to make the impact of their stay as neutral as possible, he added.
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