The “crown jewel” of tourism in Saudi Arabia is AlUla, which is home to prominent ancient monuments dating from the Nabatean era. Such as the enormous tomb of Qasr al Farid, Jebel al Fil, and the mountain with elephantine features, which travelers can visit each year during the Winter at Tantora Festival. AIUla is a living museum with 200,000 years of mainly unknown human history, including preserved tombs, sandstone outcrops, historic homes, and monuments, both natural and man-made. Saudi Arabia has long been a crossroads of ancient civilizations and a location steeped in history, yet it is also a region in a never-ending state of development. AlUla is a remarkable example of blending tradition and contemporary in the most elegant and distinctive ways possible.
This is a location that has been attracting foreign investment as Habitas AIUla has planned to launch its second branch there after the success witnessed in Tulum, Mexico. This is a 3D hotel that allows construction out of sustainable materials that are manufactured in Mexico and supplied and constructed on-site, reducing its negative environmental effects.
One of the highlights is the strong emphasis on transforming AIUla into an eco-tourism destination. These initiatives and projects will also result in the creation of 38,000 new jobs and a SAR 120 billion contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP. In addition, the Kingdom’s Institute, an international center for archaeological research dedicated to the cultures and civilizations that have occupied this region for over 7,000 years, will be built, along with 15 new cultural places like museums, art galleries, and cultural centers.
In light of those efforts to make AlUla a top touristic destination in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia’s national airline just launched its first direct flight from Paris to AlUla with 75 passengers on board. Saudia Arabia’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane departure from Charles de Gaulle Airport in the French capital marked the first direct flight to the tourist destination.
Onboard the Saudi flight were ex-Olympic show-jumper Pierre Durand, Phillip Jones, Royal Commission for AlUla’s chief destination management and marketing officer, and Gerard Mestrallet, executive chairman of the French Agency for AlUla Development.
The nonstop flights will run every week until March 27, when the Winter at Tantora Festival concludes. The four-month event series, which runs from Dec. 21, includes a diverse range of offerings in music, arts, fashion, and food.
This is a fantastic opportunity for AlUla to gain more publicity and make it easier for more tourists to fly directly to the magnificent city, which provides a variety of activities that blend history and modernity with Saudi culture and tradition.