AlUla to Host Inaugural Gathering of Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO

AlUla will be the site of the first-ever in-person meeting of representatives of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.
AlUla will be the site of the first-ever in-person meeting of representatives of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.
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AlUla to Host Inaugural Gathering of Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO

AlUla will be the site of the first-ever in-person meeting of representatives of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.
AlUla will be the site of the first-ever in-person meeting of representatives of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.

Saudi Arabia's AlUla, the ancient crossroads of civilizations in northwest Arabia that is now emerging as a global destination for cultural and natural heritage, will be the site of the first-ever in-person meeting of representatives of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.

The villages, including AlUla Old Town District were recognized in December as part of UNWTO’s Best Tourism Villages (BTV) initiative, "recognizes villages that are an outstanding example of a rural tourism destination with accredited cultural and natural assets, that preserve and promote rural and community-based values, products, and lifestyle and have a clear commitment to innovation and sustainability in all its aspects – economic, social, and environmental."

UNWTO have organized the first iteration of the Best Tourism Villages Award Ceremony and meeting of the BTV Network in AlUla on March 12-13. The event will be a forum for knowledge-sharing on topics such as best practices, community empowerment, and public-private partnerships. It will also review the program's 2022 activities and 2023 work plan.

Delegates originating from Switzerland to Vietnam will gather at AlUla's Maraya multi-purpose venue, which holds the Guinness record as the world's largest mirror-clad building, with mirrors covering its 9,740 sqm surface. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili is expected to attend.

The BTV program aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to triple tourism's share of the national economy to 10%. In 2019 Saudi Arabia introduced eVisas for citizens of 49 countries, and this February the Kingdom introduced a 96-hour stopover visa.

For the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) the gathering affirms AlUla's legacy as a cultural crossroads. A place of collaboration and cultural exchange for a millennia, there is a natural synergy between the destination and the UNWTO’s BTV program. The inclusion of AlUla on the 2022 list is an accolade in support of RCU's careful regeneration, cultural rejuvenation, and curated redevelopment of heritage destinations. RCU is honored not only by AlUla's inclusion as a BTV but by its selection as host of this inaugural BTV global gathering. 

Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, said: "The Ministry is proud to partner with UNWTO to host the Best Tourism Villages 2022 Awards Ceremony and jointly convene the first meeting of the BTV Network in the historic destination of AlUla, one of the villages across the globe recognized for its innovative approach to transforming the tourism sector."

Pololikashvili, Secretary-General, UNWTO, said: "For rural communities everywhere, tourism can be a true gamechanger in providing jobs, supporting local businesses and keeping traditions alive. The Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO showcase the power of the sector to drive economic diversification and create opportunities for all outside of big cities."

Eng. Amr AlMadani, CEO of RCU, said: "This gathering of the world’s best tourism villages serves several purposes for RCU: it allows us to share insights with destinations that share our commitment to sustainable regeneration, it showcases Maraya as a leading venue for conferences. It also provides our guests with the opportunity to visit AlUla, including the remarkable site of Hegra, which in 2008 was inscribed as Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site."



Soviet-Era Spacecraft Is Expected to Plummet to Earth This Weekend after 53 Years

This photo provided by researcher Jane Greaves shows the planet Venus, seen from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Akatsuki probe in May 2016. (J. Greaves/Cardiff University/JAXA via AP)
This photo provided by researcher Jane Greaves shows the planet Venus, seen from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Akatsuki probe in May 2016. (J. Greaves/Cardiff University/JAXA via AP)
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Soviet-Era Spacecraft Is Expected to Plummet to Earth This Weekend after 53 Years

This photo provided by researcher Jane Greaves shows the planet Venus, seen from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Akatsuki probe in May 2016. (J. Greaves/Cardiff University/JAXA via AP)
This photo provided by researcher Jane Greaves shows the planet Venus, seen from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Akatsuki probe in May 2016. (J. Greaves/Cardiff University/JAXA via AP)

A half-ton Soviet spacecraft that never made it to Venus 53 years ago is expected to fall back to Earth this weekend.

Built to land on the solar system's hottest planet, the titanium-covered spacecraft may survive its fiery, uncontrolled plunge through Earth's atmosphere, predicted to occur on Saturday. But experts said it likely would come down over water, covering most of the world, or a desolate region.

The odds of it slamming into a populated area are “infinitesimally small,” said University of Colorado Boulder scientist Marcin Pilinski.

“While we can anticipate that most of this object will not burn up in the atmosphere during reentry, it may be severely damaged on impact,” Pilinski said in an email.

By Friday, all indications pointed to a reentry early Saturday morning, US Eastern Time, give or take several hours. While space debris trackers around the world converged in their forecasts, it was still too soon to know exactly when and where the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 would come down. That uncertainty was due to potential solar activity and the spacecraft’s old condition. Its parachutes were expected to be useless by now and its batteries long dead.

Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek estimated the impact speed at 150 mph (242 kph) if the spacecraft remains intact.

The Soviets launched Kosmos 482 in 1972, intending to send it to Venus to join other spacecraft in their Venera program. But a rocket malfunction left this one stuck in orbit around Earth. Gravity kept tugging on it and was expected to finally cause its doom.

Spherical in shape, the spacecraft — 3-foot (1-meter) across and packing more than 1,000 pounds (495 kilograms) — will be the last piece of Kosmos 482 to fall from the sky. All the other parts plummeted within a decade.

Any surviving wreckage will belong to Russia under a United Nations treaty.