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AlUla's Dream Comes True as Top Global Tourist Destination

AlUla includes the ancient Nabataean city of Hegra or Al-Hijr, registered as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom, and the Dadan archaeological site, which contributed to developing and enriching the Arabic language.(SPA)
AlUla includes the ancient Nabataean city of Hegra or Al-Hijr, registered as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom, and the Dadan archaeological site, which contributed to developing and enriching the Arabic language.(SPA)
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AlUla's Dream Comes True as Top Global Tourist Destination

AlUla includes the ancient Nabataean city of Hegra or Al-Hijr, registered as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom, and the Dadan archaeological site, which contributed to developing and enriching the Arabic language.(SPA)
AlUla includes the ancient Nabataean city of Hegra or Al-Hijr, registered as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom, and the Dadan archaeological site, which contributed to developing and enriching the Arabic language.(SPA)

The people of AlUla Governorate, located in the northwest of the Kingdom, have long dreamt of seeing the region as a global tourist hub for worldwide visitors. This dream came true thanks to the support provided by the wise leadership, transforming AlUla into one of the most prominent and important global tourism destinations, as it has witnessed a remarkable tourism boom, according to recent statistics.
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) aims to raise the number of tourists to 2 million visitors by 2035, SPA said.
Hundreds of young men and women work in various fields to promote tourism in this governorate, which still preserves its antiquities and history dating back thousands of years.
It offers outstanding archaeological sites and unique tourist attractions, being one of the largest living museums in the world due to its antiquities, cemeteries, sculptures, and rock formations. It also includes the ancient Nabataean city of Hegra or Al-Hijr, registered as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom, and the Dadan archaeological site, which contributed to developing and enriching the Arabic language.
The new identity of the 93rd National Day this year, under the slogan "We Dream, and We Achieve," was inspired by Saudi projects that were accomplished and turned from a dream into a reality, including AlUla projects empowered by the efforts of the RCU that aim to strengthen its position as one of the global archaeological, cultural, and natural tourist destinations.
The "AlUla Vision," launched by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman earlier, reflects AlUla's historical status embodied through the essential stages of achieving AlUla's vision, including the "Journey Through Time" plan.
This plan also aims to preserve AlUla as a unique natural and cultural environment that can develop cultural heritage for the world and achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. Upon its completion, it will realize an economic return by attracting more tourists and providing multiple job opportunities for local community members, in addition to contributing to the Kingdom's GDP.

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Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Australia moved Saturday to ban mining at one of the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits, highlighting the site's "enduring connection" to Indigenous Australians.

The Jabiluka deposit in northern Australia is surrounded by the heritage-listed Kakadu national park, a tropical expanse of gorges and waterfalls featured in the first "Crocodile Dundee" film.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site -- which has never been mined -- honoring the decades-long desires of the Mirrar people.

"They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land," Albanese told a crowd of Labor Party supporters in Sydney.

"This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka," he added.

Archaeologists discovered a buried trove of stone axes and tools near the Jabiluka site in 2017, which they dated at tens of thousands of years old.

The find was "proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have had with our land", Albanese said.

"The Mirrar people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years.

"That beautiful part of Australia is home to some of the oldest rock art in the world," he added.

Discovered in the early 1970s, efforts to exploit the Jabiluka deposit have for decades been tied-up in legal wrangling between Indigenous custodians and mining companies.

It is one of the world's largest unexploited high-grade uranium deposits, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Rio Tinto-controlled company Energy Resources of Australia previously held mining leases at Jabiluka.

The conservation of Indigenous sites has come under intense scrutiny in Australia after mining company Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.

Australia's conservative opposition has vowed to build nuclear power plants across the country if it wins the next election, overturning a 26-year nuclear ban.