AlUla Reveals its Plans for Developing Tourism

AlUla is becoming more attractive to tourists. Reuters
AlUla is becoming more attractive to tourists. Reuters
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AlUla Reveals its Plans for Developing Tourism

AlUla is becoming more attractive to tourists. Reuters
AlUla is becoming more attractive to tourists. Reuters

Saudi Arabia plans to turn the historical city of AlUla in the northeast into an international tourism center that draws visitors interested in art and culture.

The Royal Commission for AlUla, the body tasked with developing and implementing sustainability initiatives, presented its plans for developing tourism at its natural reserves.

Members of the commission took part in a panel discussion at the Hospitality of Tomorrow virtual conference organized by Bench Events.

The participants said that the Royal Commission aims to attract two million visitors annually to AlUla, create 38,000 jobs, contribute 120 billion riyals (32 billion dollars) to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and protect AlUla’s historical and cultural heritage sites.

The conference was organized to provide a platform for discussion between stakeholders and leaders in the hospitality sector with the aim of speeding up its recovery by establishing the ties needed to build understanding and enhance relations and unity.

In the session, Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani, Director of Museums and Exhibitions, and Heritage Consultant, Royal Commission for AlUla said that AlUla is an exceptional site that has had human existence for more than 200,000 years, and the successive civilizations that inhabited it left rich and diverse legacies that makeup AlUla’s rich heritage. "We have a new and important old story that we would like to tell its chapters; accordingly, preserving AlUla and protecting its treasures and its heritage is among our priorities.”

The invigorating role that arts play in the development of AlUla and bringing in the local community was also discussed, with Nora Aldabal Arts and Culture Programming Director, Royal Commission for AlUla saying: “Bringing attention to AlUla as a cultural center supports creativity and artistic exchange (...) in cooperation with international bodies such as Desert X, where artists had the opportunity to make exhibitions in the context of societies, making society an essential pillar of the experiment’s success.”

Neville Wakefield from Desert X stressed that culture is the center of communication, adding that they worked to attract artists from all over the world and urged them to participate in the discussion and establish channels of dialogue amongst themselves as they visited the natural sites of AlUla.



Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Türkiye, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis.

That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road.

Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind.

In the past week, Türkiye has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.

The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed.

As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Türkiye's parliament adopted the country’s first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053.

The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements.

The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law’s symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings.

“The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,” the group said.