ALULA TO HOST INAUGURAL GATHERING OF BEST TOURISM VILLAGES BY UNWTO
Historic AlUla Previous City was amongst villages included by UNWTO on its 2022 checklist of…
- Historic AlUla Previous City was amongst villages included by UNWTO on its 2022 checklist of Greatest Tourism Villages
- Delegates from around the globe will share their insights on sustainable, revolutionary rural tourism
ALULA, Saudi Arabia, March 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — AlUla, the traditional crossroads of civilisations in north-west Arabia that’s now rising as a worldwide vacation spot for cultural and pure heritage, would be the website of the first-ever in-person assembly of representatives of the Greatest Tourism Villages by UNWTO.
The villages, together with AlUla Previous City District have been recognised in December as a part of UNWTO’s Greatest Tourism Villages (BTV) initiative, “recognises villages which can be an impressive instance of a rural tourism vacation spot with accredited cultural and pure property, that protect and promote rural and community-based values, merchandise, and life-style and have a transparent dedication to innovation and sustainability in all its elements – financial, social, and environmental.”
UNWTO have organised the primary iteration of the Greatest Tourism Villages Award Ceremony and assembly of the BTV Community in AlUla on March 12-13. The occasion will be a discussion board for knowledge-sharing on subjects reminiscent of finest practices, group empowerment, and public-private partnerships. It can additionally assessment the programme’s 2022 actions and 2023 work plan.
Delegates originating from Switzerland to Vietnam will collect at AlUla’s Maraya multi-purpose venue, which holds the Guinness file because the world’s largest mirror-clad constructing, with mirrors protecting its 9,740 sqm floor. The UNWTO Secretary-Normal, Zurab Pololikashvili, is predicted to attend.
The BTV programme aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Imaginative and prescient 2030, which goals to triple tourism’s share of the nationwide financial system to 10%. In 2019 Saudi Arabia launched eVisas for residents of 49 international locations, and this February the Kingdom launched a 96-hour stopover visa.
For the Royal Fee for AlUla (RCU) the gathering affirms AlUla’s legacy as a cultural crossroads. A spot of collaboration and cultural change for a millennia, there’s a pure synergy between the vacation spot and the UNWTO’s BTV programme. The inclusion of AlUla on the 2022 checklist is an accolade in assist of RCU’s cautious regeneration, cultural rejuvenation, and curated redevelopment of heritage locations. RCU is honoured not solely by AlUla’s inclusion as a BTV however by its choice as host of this inaugural BTV world gathering.
HE Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, stated: “The Ministry is proud to accomplice with UNWTO to host the Greatest Tourism Villages 2022 Awards Ceremony and collectively convene the primary assembly of the BTV Community within the historic vacation spot of AlUla, one of many villages throughout the globe recognised for its revolutionary strategy to reworking the tourism sector.”
Mr. Pololikashvili, Secretary-Normal, UNWTO, stated: “For rural communities in every single place, tourism generally is a true gamechanger in offering jobs, supporting native companies and protecting traditions alive. The Greatest Tourism Villages by UNWTO showcase the facility of the sector to drive financial diversification and create alternatives for all outdoors of massive cities.”
Eng. Amr AlMadani, CEO of RCU, stated: “This gathering of the world’s finest tourism villages serves a number of functions for RCU: it permits us to share insights with locations that share our dedication to sustainable regeneration, it showcases Maraya as a number one venue for conferences. It additionally offers our friends with the chance to go to AlUla, together with the outstanding website of Hegra, which in 2008 was inscribed as Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Website.”
The whole checklist of Greatest Tourism Villages 2022 could be learn right here: www.unwto.org/information/best-tourism-villages-of-2022-named-by-unwto
Tune into the occasion by way of the official livestream right here: https://youtube.com/dwell/32ecVh7kzkE
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In regards to the Royal Fee for AlUla
The Royal Fee for AlUla (RCU) was established by royal decree in July 2017 to protect and develop AlUla, a area of excellent pure and cultural significance in north-west Saudi Arabia. RCU’s long-term plan outlines a accountable, sustainable, and delicate strategy to city and financial improvement that preserves the realm’s pure and historic heritage whereas establishing AlUla as a fascinating location to dwell, work, and go to. This encompasses a broad vary of initiatives throughout archaeology, tourism, tradition, training, and the humanities, reflecting a dedication to assembly the financial diversification, local people empowerment, and heritage preservation priorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Imaginative and prescient 2030 programme.
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Photograph: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2030953/AlUla_Old_Town_District.jpg
SOURCE Royal Fee for AlUla
