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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Boost Domestic Tourism

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) reopens its cultural sites for recreation. SPA
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) reopens its cultural sites for recreation. SPA
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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Boost Domestic Tourism

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) reopens its cultural sites for recreation. SPA
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) reopens its cultural sites for recreation. SPA

Tourist sites in the Kingdom began preparations to welcome Saudi tourists as a nationwide curfew and restrictions on businesses were lifted on Sunday despite keeping international flights suspended.

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) announced Saturday four flights per week departing from the capital, Riyadh, to AlUla. The first flight was on Sunday.

Over the next few days, flights from Jeddah and other Saudi cities will be announced, in partnership with Saudi Airlines.

“Visitors can relax and rejuvenate in our cultural oasis ahead of AlUla's heritage sites reopening in October,” the RCU announced on its official Twitter account.

The Kingdom’s Tourism Ministry also announced last week that domestic tourism will resume.

Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed al-Khatib told Al-Arabiya news channel that the ministry is preparing to launch a rich domestic tourism program this summer.

According to Khatib, 80 percent of citizens have an interest in visiting local destinations instead of traveling abroad.

The Ministry will release the program after it is approved by the Health Ministry and relevant top committees, he said.

The Kingdom’s Tourism Authority has launched the “Saudi Summer” campaign to encourage tourism along the Red Sea, from Abha to the Tabuk region.

The Ministry has imposed strict measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak. They include increasing disinfection, social distancing and wearing masks.

Summer programs will not be launched before ensuring that all procedures are adopted in line with the Health Ministry instructions.

Tourists are mainly eying the Kingdom’s southern region for enjoying lower temperatures than other areas.

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Space Pioneer Says Part of Rocket Crashed in Central China

FILE: This artist's illustration courtesy of Blue Origin obtained October 25, 2021, shows the core module of Orbital Reef. Handout BLUE ORIGIN/AFP/File
FILE: This artist's illustration courtesy of Blue Origin obtained October 25, 2021, shows the core module of Orbital Reef. Handout BLUE ORIGIN/AFP/File
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Space Pioneer Says Part of Rocket Crashed in Central China

FILE: This artist's illustration courtesy of Blue Origin obtained October 25, 2021, shows the core module of Orbital Reef. Handout BLUE ORIGIN/AFP/File
FILE: This artist's illustration courtesy of Blue Origin obtained October 25, 2021, shows the core module of Orbital Reef. Handout BLUE ORIGIN/AFP/File

Beijing Tianbing Technology Co said on Sunday that the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket under development had detached from its launch pad during a test due to structural failure and landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China.

There were no reports of casualties after an initial investigation, Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, said in a statement on its official WeChat account, Reuters reported.

Parts of the rocket stage were scattered within a "safe area" but caused a local fire, according to a separate statement by the Gongyi emergency management bureau.

The fire has since been extinguished and no one has been hurt, the bureau said.

The two-stage Tianlong-3 ("Sky Dragon 3") is a partly reusable rocket under development by Space Pioneer, one of a small group of rapidly growing private-sector rocket makers over the past five years.

Falling rocket debris in China after launches is not unheard of, but it is very rare for part of a rocket under development to make an unplanned flight out of its test site and crash.

According to Space Pioneer, the first stage of the Tianlong-3 ignited normally during a hot test but later detached from the test bench due to structural failure and landed in hilly areas 1.5 kms (0.9 miles) away.

The performance of Tianlong-3 is comparable to SpaceX's Falcon 9, according to Space Pioneer.

In April 2023, Space Pioneer launched a kerosene-oxygen rocket, the Tianlong-2, becoming the first private Chinese firm to send a liquid-propellant rocket into space.

Chinese commercial space companies have rushed into the sector since 2014 when private investment in the industry was allowed by the state.

Many started making satellites while others including Space Pioneer, focused on developing reusable rockets that can significantly cut mission costs.

The test sites of such companies can be found along China's coastal areas, located by the sea due to safety reasons.

But some are also sited deep in the country's interior such as Space Pioneer's test centre in Gongyi, a city of 800,000 people in the central province of Henan.