AlUla has received the Middle East's Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2023 award at the Middle East World Travel Awards, raising the visibility of this Saudi historical oasis that is one of the most attractive destinations in the region.
Royal Commission for AlUla Chief Tourism Officer Phillip Jones, together with other commission representatives, attended the awarding ceremony that was held in Dubai on Sunday.
The award comes in recognition of the commission's efforts to protect the region's unique cultural and natural heritage through a number of sustainable and comprehensive development initiatives.
This win boosts AlUla's status and will further increase its commitment to promote tourism and protect the historical legacy of the old city.
Located in the northwest of the Kingdom, AlUla is part of trade routes from old ages, and home to successive civilizations that have engraved their lives in the landscape and left many monuments that reflect the way of life at the time.
There are many archaeological and historical sites in AlUla governorate, most notably Hegra, which is Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Jabal Ikmah, which has hundreds of rock inscriptions in various ancient languages. The site was recently included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
The old city also has over 900 mud brick houses that were erected at least since the 12th century.
AlUla was named one of the world's best tourist villages for 2022 by the World Tourism Organization.
