Abu Dhabi’s government is introducing new requirements for hotels to inject more local culture into the guest experience. So if you frequent the region and notice some changes before and during your hotel stay, now you know why…
Abu Dhabi’s new cultural standards for hotels
The Gulf countries are all trying to grow their tourism sectors and diversify their economies away from oil. There are of course several large airlines based in the Gulf, and while many passengers are in transit to other destinations, some people may have a stopover for a night or two. The goal is always to convert those travelers into future visitors.
Along those lines, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism has launched the Emirati Dhiyafa Standards framework, with the idea being that hotels have new mandatory standards they have to follow, intended to increase the local culture that’s part of the hospitality experience. By the first quarter of 2027, hotels have to incorporate the following into their guest experience:
- Hotel websites include a section or links to information about the history and culture of the UAE
- Pre-arrival messages provide information on how to experience the unique culture, heritage, and natural setting of the UAE
- The guest welcome area is at all times staffed with at least one employee dressed in traditional Emirati attire
- Guest facing and food & beverages staff can name and explain at least three traditional Emirati dishes and their role in Emirati dining traditions
- At least one guest facing public area incorporates at least one Emirati heritage-inspired design element
Here’s how Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi, describes this:
“The experiences that visitors remember most are often the simplest: the warmth of a welcome, the sharing of local traditions, and the feeling of being genuinely looked after. The Emirati Dhiyafa Standards translate these timeless values into a framework that will enrich every stage of the visitor journey. By embedding our cultural identity within the hospitality experience, we are creating a more distinctive and meaningful connection between our visitors and Abu Dhabi, while strengthening the emirate’s tourism ecosystem and sustaining the momentum of our Tourism Strategy 2030.”
I appreciate the idea behind this initiative, but…
I understand and respect the concept behind this initiative, because of course trying to make a place feel more welcoming and cultural gives people a more favorable impression.
Now, some of these standards do strike me as rather random and silly. I’m not sure the staff at a hotel’s Irish themed pub being able to recite three Emirati dishes will do a whole lot to enrich the cultural experience for guests, but who knows…
I will say this… I very much respect what the head of tourism is saying about the value of “the warmth of a welcome,” and I think that’s an area where there’s an opportunity that doesn’t need to be exported to the overwhelmingly foreign staff at hotels.
I’m not meaning to rag on Emirati or Qatari culture, for example, as I have friends from both countries. They’re generally very warm people on a personal level, if you’re friends with them. But just on a transactional level, I’ve found it to be a very different story.
For example, I don’t think I’ve ever gone through immigration in the UAE or Qatar and got a smile or a welcome. They’re usually on (what I assume is) a personal phone call, and don’t even look up, and seem very unhappy.
I recently visited Saudi Arabia, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the warmth of people even in a casual, transactional sense. Like, the immigration officers both on arrival and departure were extremely friendly and hospitable, and I found that warmth to be pretty consistent among Saudi nationals.
First impressions count, so I feel like there’s an opportunity there. Maybe it’s just me, but a genuine smile and a warm welcome from a local does more for me than a friendly Filipino hotel worker being forced to memorize the details of three dishes.
Bottom line
Abu Dhabi is introducing new cultural standards for hotels, which have to be implemented by early 2027. If you’re a frequent visitor to the region, you’ll likely notice these, as they include things like additional cultural information on hotel websites and pre-stay emails, someone in the welcome area wearing traditional Emirati attire, etc.
I look forward to learning what three dishes every hotel employee knows, along with a detailed explanation! 😉
What do you make of Abu Dhabi’s new cultural standards?
As if some stolen dishes will make us think emiratis have culture. Pretty much everything they have is levantine arab, persian, turkish, and subcontinental culture
Well no. They do have local dishes. Hunks of lamb on rice. Or sweet eggs with noodles?! Having local dishes doesn’t make them worth eating…
I do think the old local seafood is totally a missed opportunity though. When I used to cross through the UAE in the 1980s the prawns and lobsters and even hammour was up there with the seafood one would experience in Japan or the Far East or even Spain....
Well no. They do have local dishes. Hunks of lamb on rice. Or sweet eggs with noodles?! Having local dishes doesn’t make them worth eating…
I do think the old local seafood is totally a missed opportunity though. When I used to cross through the UAE in the 1980s the prawns and lobsters and even hammour was up there with the seafood one would experience in Japan or the Far East or even Spain. Now it’s not really the same story but this was historical traditional food. No garnish or culinary artistry but genuine good grilled seafood was a beautiful thing in the 1980s UAE. Now they can’t even pretend it was a local dish because the waters are no where near as clean as they were in the 1980 after all of Dubai’s construction and sea man made islands. Those wonderful lobsters and prawns only exist on the Omani side of the coast now.
Great that they’re showcasing local dishes that have been prepared the traditional way like this, you know, by teams of poorly treated chefs probably entirely from the Indian subcontinent...
Totally optional btw
Back in 2016, I went to the Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village in Doha to try their Saturday buffet of Qatari food. I had emailed a bit back and forth with them before going, and basically every staff member was ready to guide on what was true local dishes, and to explain them. It should not really need a law, just a service minded hotel.
The things is, though, most of the Arabic food you find in...
Back in 2016, I went to the Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village in Doha to try their Saturday buffet of Qatari food. I had emailed a bit back and forth with them before going, and basically every staff member was ready to guide on what was true local dishes, and to explain them. It should not really need a law, just a service minded hotel.
The things is, though, most of the Arabic food you find in restaurants in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, is Mediterranean Arabic. Finding true local food in the Gulf countries is not easy. So unless they force a change of menus as well, it will be explaining items not served.
Very true. Pretty much have to head to the souk and find a small/local restaurant for that. It's hard to even find an actual Emirati in the staff at the hotels in the UAE.
An Emirati doesn't do those works.
Will they show you how a 80 year old man can marry a 15 year old Girl ?
Making everything even more fake will actually make UAE more authentic. Talk about a paradox!
How often will guests even ask staff to name and describe 3 Emirati dishes? Probably going to just be how they know someone is an inspector.
Does this mean you can correct your wife, kids and dog like in the traditional days? I am all for equality, but American civil society was much more polite in the past when men kept order and were much more respected. A good crack for poor behavior never did me any harm growing up.
Nothing says “polite civil society” quite like domestic violence and the unquestioned authority of men. If your argument for the "good old days" is “I got hit and turned out fine,” you may want to reconsider the “fine” part.
Ah yes, nothing says “polite civil society” quite like domestic violence and the unquestioned authority of men. If your argument for the good old days is “I got hit and turned out fine,” you may want to reconsider the “fine” part.
Since 99.9% of people entering a country are GOOD people at Airports we should out customs officers into a suit and tie, and certainly NO gun. Nobody has a gun at an airport so no need to be armed. Now the officer can say welcome to "whatever country" and give a nice first impression.
Realistically very soon 99.9 % of people will enter a country digitally so I am probably late with this suggestion....
Since 99.9% of people entering a country are GOOD people at Airports we should out customs officers into a suit and tie, and certainly NO gun. Nobody has a gun at an airport so no need to be armed. Now the officer can say welcome to "whatever country" and give a nice first impression.
Realistically very soon 99.9 % of people will enter a country digitally so I am probably late with this suggestion. .
Now land borders are probably a different thing as a Canadian we probably do have to leave agents armed because who knows what's in a person's car.
Next on national airlines I hope most countries at least try to keep some local food and wine?
So for a hotel to have some information about the country is probably not a bad thing.
( We could do the same thing in Canada 🤣🤣🤣)
However we would probably fight over weather it's right to have a Philippines worker wearing an Indian feather headdress 🤣
Instead of forcing workers to learn local dishes and the other new rules, maybe they should be more creative towards the tourists.
I think Taiwan actually does an excellent job through their tourism offices: They regularly hand out free transport and sim cards, offer free half-day guided tours for transit visitors, and I already got free vouchers for local activities multiple times (like hot spring, or local fruit picking). Those things do much more...
Instead of forcing workers to learn local dishes and the other new rules, maybe they should be more creative towards the tourists.
I think Taiwan actually does an excellent job through their tourism offices: They regularly hand out free transport and sim cards, offer free half-day guided tours for transit visitors, and I already got free vouchers for local activities multiple times (like hot spring, or local fruit picking). Those things do much more to show local culture than some foreign hotel worker memorizing a text from a guidebook about 3 local dishes.
Unfortunately foreigners already living in Taiwan aren't eligible for these discounts (Taiwan citizens are though).
The difference is that Taiwan organically already has all the pieces of the puzzle. It has old architecture/cultural neighborhoods, mountains, night markets, top tier cuisine, transit infrastructure, etc.
All that was really needed is more exposure and discoverability.
In contrast, the UAE is a soulless cookie cutter that is being artifically turned into a tourist hellscape.
Really odd.
Hakkasan Abu Dhabi now serves balaleet (spiced vermicelli noodles with a savory egg omelette.)
Your Philippine housekeeper is walking around the room in a bespoke, five-sizes-too-big silk kandoora and a matching agal.
The second your keycard clicks the door open, the TV automatically blasts an unskippable 4K documentary about the history of the Adnoc oil refinery at 100% volume.
Good luck to Zuma or COYA, who are going to have to figure out...
Really odd.
Hakkasan Abu Dhabi now serves balaleet (spiced vermicelli noodles with a savory egg omelette.)
Your Philippine housekeeper is walking around the room in a bespoke, five-sizes-too-big silk kandoora and a matching agal.
The second your keycard clicks the door open, the TV automatically blasts an unskippable 4K documentary about the history of the Adnoc oil refinery at 100% volume.
Good luck to Zuma or COYA, who are going to have to figure out how to elegantly transition a guest from a delicate, chilled sea bass ceviche straight into a boiling, heavy clay pot of Emirati Lamb Thareed.
Meanwhile, your French sommelier is sweating through his suit trying to remember the history of luqaimat just to keep his visa.
Kuwaitis and Saudis are widely known as the two most arrogant people in the GCC. In the GCC, there are citizens and expats so I am unsure how the terms " locals and nationals" are applied at first but no longer. I am interested in reading your experience and interactions with the Saudis in addition to the Qataris. The GCC citizens see themselves as first citizens, followed by Caucasians and bottom out by workers from...
Kuwaitis and Saudis are widely known as the two most arrogant people in the GCC. In the GCC, there are citizens and expats so I am unsure how the terms " locals and nationals" are applied at first but no longer. I am interested in reading your experience and interactions with the Saudis in addition to the Qataris. The GCC citizens see themselves as first citizens, followed by Caucasians and bottom out by workers from developing countries. Thus, your experience may not be representative of general impression of the expats towards the Saudis. The reason why the customs staff do not look up at you perhaps because their culture frowns upon direct eye contact, except when they engage in the conversation with you, like the Japanese culture. It is considered rude/ impolite to make eye contact in Japan -- my explanation to your question so long ago as to why Japanese do not look at you. Staring is another beast.
I loved Arabic food when I lived there and was much younger. It is quite tasty but greasy. Today, I may not want to eat it because it will take months to burn off the calories, if ever. They love red meat like veal, beef and lamb.
Could the serious look of immigration officers just be part of the job? For example in India Immigation officers look serious/don't smile or greet and I've noticed this in many other places
This is ironic since many hotel workers there are Expats and I've found them to be very personable
"I'll have the Machboos and Guinness combo deal, please"
I protest the unprovoked and hostile attack on Qatari culture, about two-thirds into the article
i notice you didnt say that the attack was "false" though ;-)
Most people don't go to UAE for culture.
Then ironically you have Yas Island.
Very local culture.
Definitely agree about the demeanor of the Emirati and Qatari I "interacted" with, which was just literally at the border and one or two museums. Once past, I can't recall even talking to a local.
That being said, I don't see how this initiative changes much of anything, unless they staff with more nationals that guests can interact with.
Just print a brochure, distribute it to all hotels, and have the staff at reception pass a copy onto all guests checking in.
It fits with the global trend of becoming more and more conservative and nationalistic. Just look at how everywhere in the West the fascists/nationalists are emerging, how everyone screams how closing borders and preventing migration will solve all problems (hint: it doesn't) and how people are more and more sticking to (imaginary) 'cultural heritage' and refer to a dreamed up history that never was. A nation like the UAE, that basically is where it is...
It fits with the global trend of becoming more and more conservative and nationalistic. Just look at how everywhere in the West the fascists/nationalists are emerging, how everyone screams how closing borders and preventing migration will solve all problems (hint: it doesn't) and how people are more and more sticking to (imaginary) 'cultural heritage' and refer to a dreamed up history that never was. A nation like the UAE, that basically is where it is today due to immigration and immigrants, probably also wants the 'locals' to feel assured that they're still a notch or two above the others and that their culture and heritage is being respected and shown off explicitly to anyone who comes along.
I don't think it works. Not every hotel has a restaurant, some hotel restaurants have themes or specializations that may not be 'traditional' for the region, and I'm surprised that this isn't aimed at any other outlets of the hospitality industry. It looks a bit random.
"Sir, would you like our desert menu? We have sand cakes and we'll make you swallow a camel."
Username checks out.
I do always appreciate hotels that feel related to their location more than hotels that are needlessly foreign in what they offer. Not sure how I feel about the comment about foreign staff tbh. I'm only from a single place but I can name and describe my favorite dishes from a variety of places, and I'm not sure if me being from somewhere else should invalidate my experiences
I think it would be funny if this was enforced worldwide.
"Welcome to the Holiday Inn BWI Linthicum. Here are some interesting facts about the history of the greater Baltimore region. Our restaurant menu features crabcakes, various items seasoned with Old Bay, and oysters. Yes, even at a Holiday Inn!"
Funny indeed.
Welcome to Mar-a-Lago.
The top 3 secrets buried.
Epstein, rigged election, and business ties.
That's a great idea. Unfortunately in the US, most of the employees in hospitality industry don't even speak any English, and certainly aren't familiar with local customs and traditions. As to Arab employees being unfriendly, it's because they know we lost a waron terrorism, which they won. It's their way of gloating.
That's quite the leap from “some hospitality workers don't speak English” to “Arabs won a war on terrorism and are gloating about it.”
Tell that to the israelis
Abu Dhabi… come for the food… stay because you dared to insult the food, and it’s an absolute, hereditary monarchy… *gulp*
AUH because the tickets are cheaper and the stopover is free.