AlUla Partner Content

The luxury travel sector is shifting towards deeper cultural engagement and authenticity. AlUla is carving out its niche in the industry by offering travelers exclusive access to one of the world's most ancient civilizations.

Careful planning is required to balance a surge in heritage tourism with the delicate responsibility of protecting the historic sites that hold so much appeal. At this year’s Skift Global Forum, Melanie de Souza of the Royal Commission for AlUla discussed the region’s blueprint for sustainable heritage travel in the modern age.

Known as the crown jewel of Saudi tourism, AlUla is building a "light-touch tourism" model that focuses on cultural preservation to attract travelers interested in authentic experiences while capping visitor numbers to preserve its unique landscape.

In this video from Skift Global Forum East 2022, we hear from Annette Gibbons-Warren, cultural planning director, Royal Commission for AlUla, and Melanie de Souza, the company’s executive director of destination marketing, about Saudi Arabia’s ambitious international arts and culture capital of the future.