AlUla: Building wealth through hospitality

Investments in AlUla’s hospitality industry will also have a positive and lasting impact on its people

AlUla has enormous tourism potential (RCU)

Home to ethereal rock formations, heritage sites capturing millennia of history and culture, and a lush, verdant oasis, AlUla is a hidden gem that’s on the cusp of change.

Leading this change is the Journey Through Time Masterplan, an ambitious 15-year project that will transform this one of a kind destination into a world leading living museum, with five unique districts, each showcasing a different heritage site.

Fifteen cultural spaces will be built to enhance and complement the experiences in each district.

AlUla Old Town will gain a new hub for artists and artisans while Jabal Ikmah, dubbed AlUla’s Open Library, will see the opening of a new interpretive centre to help visitors understand how people lived here millenia ago. The Nabatean city of Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first Unesco Heritage Site, will become an open air gallery, ready and waiting to be explored.

It’s no surprise then that AlUla is set to become a major draw for tourists.

By the project’s completion in 2035, it’s expected that some 2 million tourists will be visiting AlUla each year, passing through its recently expanded international airport, hopping on the new 46km low-carbon tramway and checking into one of the 5,000 new accommodation options outlined in the Journey Through Time Masterplan.

The Ashar Resort will offer new eco-tourism experiences (RCU)

It’s also no surprise that AlUla has become a new centre for environmentally-sound investment in the region, with the hospitality sector being an early example of its success.

As part of AlUla’s metamorphosis, the Masterplan has mapped out hospitality and accommodation options to complement the diverse heritage in each of the five districts, just like the 15 cultural infrastructures. They range from eco-tourism resorts and luxury lodges to business hotels, serviced apartments and RV parks.

One of the most exciting openings will be Aman, a brand that’s known for placing exclusive properties in some of the world’s most beautiful locations. In AlUla’s Nabataean Horizon district, the brand will create the Aman Hegra Resort, comprising of 40 luxury villas that will be ready to welcome guests by the end of 2023. The resort will feature a discovery centre, a library partially carved into the rock in the Nabataean tradition, a subterranean spa and a nature trail created through an organic orchard.

In nearby Ashar Valley, Mexican hotel group Habitas will be building an eco-friendly luxury resort that will harmoniously blend into the desert canyon through a modular design. Local influences will be incorporated in all of the resort’s experiences, including in its food and wellness offering.

At the same time, the existing Ashar Resort will be expanded through a partnership with Accor/Banyan Tree, which will create 47 new villas - bringing the resort’s total to 82 villas - along with restaurants and a spa. These too will be designed so that they can discreetly blend into Ashar Valley’s striking landscape.

Such international partnerships were a key part of the hospitality developments at AlUla even before the Journey Through Time Masterplan was unveiled, and provide concrete proof of AlUla’s potential.

The prime example being leading French architect Jean Nouvel’s extraordinary new resort that’s carved into the sandstone rocks of AlUla, echoing the 2,000-year-old architectural legacy of the Nabataeans. Located in the heart of the Sharaan Nature Reserve near Hegra, Sharaan by Jean Nouvel Resort is set to be a truly unique masterpiece that the architect has described as “the coming together of landscape and history”.

While this portfolio of hotel partnerships is already impressive, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the architect of the Masterplan, is poised to announce more collaborations in the near future.

(RCU)

To facilitate these key developments, the RCU has already injected US$2 billion (£1.44 billion) into the core infrastructure, such as the expansion of AlUla International Airport, as well as key tourism and hospitality assets including the Ashar estate and the iconic Maraya events venue.

With an estimated total development value of US$15 billion (£10.95 billion), of which US$ 3.2 billion (£2.31 billion) will be dedicated to primary infrastructure, the Journey Through Time Masterplan will further encourage and accelerate business and investment from partners who share RCU’s values of sustainability, responsibility and community inclusivity.

Thanks to the Masterplan’s integrated sustainability model, these investments will also have a real positive impact locally. They will drive economic growth and improve liveability of the region, all while making a significant contribution towards the creation of 38,000 new jobs by 2035, upon the completion of the wider developments in AlUla.

Change is afoot in AlUla - and here, it is a very good thing indeed.

Learn more about AlUla and the Journey Through Time Masterplan here.