Big news for Middle East travelers today: The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority has announced that it will launch its new hotel classification system in the first quarter of 2013.
Nasser Al Reyami, tourism standards director, told Hotelier Middle East that the Authority is working on a major update of its classification system: "We are three months into the project now. We are working on it in conjunction with the local hospitality industry."
Al Reyami said there would be several new aspects to the classification system including a new category for "exceptional properties"—whether business hotels or leisure resorts—that are deemed to be outside the normal five-star criteria.