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The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer the best strategy to create a better future for people and our planet by 2030. The SDGs was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a call for action by all countries poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the environment. Tourism and hospitality is one of the fastest growing segments of the service industry in the Middle East. Aviation and the hotel industry represent the majority of the hospitality industry, and due to that, this paper aims to showcase their effort in following and adapting to UN SDGs to build sustainable communities and cities. The chosen companies for the analysis are Emirates Airline, Jumeirah Group and Rotana Group.

This case study is based on secondary qualitative data retrieved from websites.

The findings indicate commitment to acknowledge and lead by example by following the UN SDGs at all three companies. The research reflected on the ability of the three companies to thrive in achieving SDGs. Further, the paper reveals why the construction of sustainable cities and communities is important. It explains how the wider hospitality industry could adapt and make an effort by working together with the hotel and aviation sectors in building smart cities and completely sustainable communities.

The paper recommends a focus on strengthening Goal 8 – decent work and economic growth and Goal 11 – sustainable cities and communities to achieve common UN SDGs for all.

The chosen hospitality brands (Emirates Airline, Jumeirah Group and Rotana Group) represent examples of companies that are acknowledging and working on their engagement to become leaders in achieving UN SDGs. The process needs to be ongoing in what should be a final goal – building completely sustainable, self-sufficient cities and communities worldwide.

This paper aims to summarize the main contributions and practical implications arising from the theme issue with reference to 22 case examples relating to sustainable hospitality and tourism industry development and one interview-based article drawing on practitioners with expertise is the practice of adaptive re-use.

This paper reviews the contribution made by this theme issue to the question: How can sustainability and the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) be applied to hospitality?

Through this study, it has been observed that progress has been made by hospitality firms in relation to sustainability, but additional work is needed to address the more complex issues raised by the UN’s SDGs.

A key outcome of this theme issue is that the 22 case examples and the interview-based practitioner opinion presented in this paper demonstrate that sustainability is firmly on the development agenda, and that a sense of urgency and commitment to sustainability principles has gained ground and significance.