Exploring Inclusiveness in Green Hotels for Sustainable Development in Egypt

Abstract

Universal Design (UD) is a design process that enables a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation. Its key principles are simplicity, flexibility, and efficiency. The principles of (UD) are established to evaluate existing designs, guide the design process and educate both designers and consumers about the characteristics of more usable products and environments. Furthermore, the Green Star Hotel (GSH) is a national green certification and capacity-building program managed by the Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA). Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), Egypt Vision 2030, is in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The national strategic plan’s three dimensions (economic, social and environmental) are based on ten pillars covering broadly the SDGs. Both Universal Design (UD) and Green Star Hotel (GSH) are in support of Sustainable Development (SD) in terms of “environmental protection” and social justice "inclusion". This paper aims at accomplishing (SD) 2030 in Egypt for a better life to all Egyptians by investigating the inclusiveness in green star certified hotels. The study focuses on “Three green star certified hotels” as case studies to be evaluated in terms of the Universal Design Features to achieve (SD) in Egypt. A checklist is prepared for that purpose and is applied to the chosen hotels. The study concludes that both of (UD) and Green Star program (GS) instruct to Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), Egypt Vision 2030.