Practical ways tourism businesses can work with local suppliers, artisans and organisations to strengthen operations and create more authentic visitor experiences.
Every tourism business is connected to a web of suppliers, service providers, artisans, farmers, guides, and local organisations. These connections shape what visitors experience, what they taste, what they learn, and what they take home. Thinking local means intentionally strengthening these connections, not by replacing everything, but by identifying realistic opportunities where Sharjah-based products, services, and partnerships can enhance operations and create more authentic visitor experiences. The goal isn't to source everything locally. It's to identify where local options can strengthen your operations, deepen your connection to Sharjah, and give visitors something distinctive they couldn't find anywhere else.
Ways to work with local partners
Working locally doesn't mean just buying from suppliers. Tourism businesses can collaborate in different ways depending on their goals, the type of partner, and how closely they want to work together. Here are six approaches, from simple to more collaborative:
Where to Look for Local Opportunities
1. Food & Beverages
Local farms, bakeries, coffee roasters, date producers, honey makers, and restaurants are among Sharjah's most distinctive food businesses. The food choices you make shape guest experiences and tell stories about the destination.
Specific opportunities:
Breakfast & morning offerings: Source locally baked bread, pastries, jams, honey, and eggs from Sharjah producers. Feature them on the breakfast menu with cards explaining who made them.
In-room welcome items: Offer dates from local farms, locally made cookies, or honey instead of generic imported snacks.
Restaurant menus: Partner with local farms for seasonal produce, dairy, and meat. Feature seasonal tasting menus that highlight what's available now.
Beverages: Source Arabic coffee from local roasters, traditional drinks, and fresh juices. Consider hosting coffee tasting experiences or demonstrating traditional coffee preparation.
Special events & celebrations: Create menus around local ingredients for wedding receptions, corporate events, or special dinners. Tell guests the story of each ingredient.
Cooking classes: Offer workshops where guests learn to cook traditional Emirati dishes or prepare meals using local ingredients.
Farm visits: Arrange visits to local date farms, honey producers, or vegetable farms where guests can meet farmers and understand Sharjah's agricultural heritage.
2. Amenities & Guest Products
The small items guests encounter daily, toiletries, linens, welcome gifts, water bottles, notepads, add up to shape their experience. These everyday touchpoints are opportunities to connect guests with local makers and create memorable details.
Specific opportunities:
Welcome amenities: Replace generic welcome baskets with locally made soaps, perfumes, honey, dates, or handcrafted items.
Bathroom toiletries: Partner with local makers to create soaps, shampoos, and body products.
Reusable water bottles or cups: Commission local artisans to create branded bottles or cups, or use sustainably made local products.
Linens & textiles: Work with local weavers or textile makers to create unique pillowcases, throws, or table linens featuring Sharjah-inspired designs.
3. Gifts & Souvenirs
Souvenirs are how guests carry your destination home. Generic souvenirs could be bought anywhere. Local, authentic products tell Sharjah's story and give visitors something meaningful they can't find elsewhere. They also directly support local artisans.
Specific opportunities:
Handcrafted items: Stock locally made jewelry, textiles, pottery, wood carvings, or metalwork from Sharjah artisans.
Oud & perfumes: Feature locally made oud-based perfumes and fragrances.
Traditional textiles: Sell locally woven rugs, embroidered fabrics, or traditional dress items (abayas, kanduras) made by local makers.
Artwork & photography: Display and sell photographs, paintings, or prints by Sharjah-based artists, with artist stories included.
Books & publications: Curate local literature, poetry, photography books, and cultural publications about Sharjah and the UAE.
Food products: Package dates, honey, spices, or specialty foods from local producers with attractive local packaging and story cards.
Artisan collaborations: Commission local makers to create exclusive items for your business, products that guests can't find elsewhere.
4. Décor, Art & Furnishings
Your physical space tells a story. When decorated with work from local artists and designers, it becomes a gallery of Sharjah talent and immediately connects guests to the place they're visiting. It also creates conversation pieces and opportunities to share artisan stories.
Specific opportunities:
Local artwork: Commission or purchase paintings, sculptures, or installations from Sharjah artists for lobbies, hallways, and guest rooms.
Photography: Feature photography by local artists, particularly work showcasing Sharjah's heritage, architecture, nature, and culture.
Calligraphy & Islamic art: Incorporate local calligraphy or Islamic art forms in décor, reflecting Sharjah's cultural identity.
Furniture & fixtures: Work with local craftspeople to design and create custom furniture pieces that reflect Sharjah aesthetics.
Textile installations: Hang locally made tapestries, woven pieces, or embroidered textiles as wall art or room dividers.
Rotating exhibitions: Create a gallery space that showcases different local artists each season, with artist bios and stories displayed.
Artist stories: Include plaques or QR codes with artist names, stories, and ways guests can purchase or learn more.
Ceramic & pottery: Display and use locally made ceramics throughout your spaces.
5. Supplies & Materials
Behind the scenes, tourism businesses purchase hundreds of operational items, cleaning supplies, office materials, packaging, uniforms, equipment. Many of these can be sourced locally, shortening supply chains, supporting local businesses, and often creating cost efficiencies.
Specific opportunities:
Cleaning & maintenance: Source eco-friendly or locally made cleaning products.
Office supplies: Purchase stationery, printing, and office materials from local printers and suppliers.
Uniforms & textiles: Have staff uniforms made by local tailors or textile makers.
Maintenance & repair: Work with local plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other service providers.
Equipment & furnishings: When replacing items, source from local suppliers where possible.
Signage & printing: Commission local designers and printers for all signage, menus, and printed materials.
6. Services
Many services that tourism businesses rely on can be provided by local professionals and organisations. Working with local service providers strengthens your network and often brings specialised expertise and personal attention.
Specific opportunities:
Photography & videography: Commission local photographers and filmmakers for marketing materials, event coverage, and promotional content.
Graphic design & branding: Work with local designers for logos, materials, websites, and visual identity.
Content creation: Partner with local writers, translators, and content creators for marketing, social media, and editorial work.
Transportation & logistics: Use local taxi services, drivers, and transport companies for airport transfers and excursions.
Catering & events: Partner with local caterers and event planners for special events and private functions.
Tours & guiding: Work with local, licensed tour guides and tourism professionals for guest activities.
Entertainment: Hire local musicians, performers, storytellers, and entertainers for events and experiences.
7. Activities & Experiences
This is where guests truly connect with Sharjah. Partnering with local guides, artisans, cultural organisations, farms, and nature organisations to offer activities creates authentic experiences that are impossible to replicate anywhere else. Guests remember what they DO far more than what they consume.
Specific opportunities:
Artisan workshops: Host henna application, oud-making, traditional weaving, pottery, or calligraphy workshops led by local artisans.
Heritage experiences: Partner with cultural organisations for heritage tours, museum visits, poetry readings, and cultural discussions.
Nature & conservation: Work with environmental organisations for guided nature walks, birdwatching, mangrove restoration, or beach cleanups.
Farm & food experiences: Arrange farm visits, harvest experiences, traditional cooking classes, or farm-to-table meals.
Storytelling & history: Invite local historians and storytellers to share Sharjah's history, legends, and cultural narratives.
Music & performing arts: Host live performances by local musicians, dancers, or theatre groups.
Community experiences: Arrange visits to local markets, souks, fishing villages, or other authentic community spaces with local guides.
