Abu Dhabi hotels face having their star rating downgraded as the UAE capital’s new hotel classification system comes into force, a senior official at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) said in remarks published on Monday.

In the coming weeks all hotels in Abu Dhabi will have to display a plaque with their new star rating issued by the ADTA, with the aim of improving standards of accommodation in the emirate.

It is the first time such a classification system has been introduced in the emirate.

“Some hotels have been downgraded,” Nasser al-Reyami, director of tourism standards at the ADTA, told UAE daily the National, without specifying how many or which hotels.

The ADTA first announced the classification system in July 2008 with the aim of introducing it before the end of last year.

Under the system hotels will be classified on a sliding scale of one to five stars, while hotel apartments will be rated as standard, superior or deluxe.

All hotels will be required to meet minimum standards for overall safety and security, bedrooms and bathrooms, public areas and services and amenities. They will also be scored on accommodation, infrastructure, guest services and restaurants.

“We are aiming to have the highest standards in the world,” Reyami was quoted as saying.

Abu Dhabi has grand ambitions to turn the emirate into an international tourism hotspot to rival that of neighbouring Dubai.

The ADTA said in May it expects 2.3 million guests annually by 2012, down from an original target of 2.7 million guests, due to the impact of the global economic downturn.