May 6- The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has stated that hotels and serviced apartments will be under a new classification system by the end of this year. The existing star-rating system is to be revised because some ultra-luxurious properties deserve higher than the traditional five stars.
DTCM said the scale will still be from one to five, but new categories will be added to highlight their uniqueness. Five stars will be divided into platinum, gold and silver categories and Hotel apartments will be rated in basic, standard and deluxe categories instead of standard and deluxe.
The new system has been in the works for three years, stated Majid Al Marri, Director of Classification at DTCM’s Licensing and Classification Division. The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is also working on upgrading their system to include new categories as well.
