The Insight

The Royal Commission for AlUla has teams of local and international experts are working to record, conserve and develop the region, but, it will not be fully accessible to tourists until 2021. This provides a unique opportunity not afforded to many destinations – a window in time to promote the destination, before it is fully accessible to the public, while ‘testing’ out new ideas and product offerings.​

The imminent announcement of tourist visas means AlUla will be the first of Saudi’s projects to be widely open to the world 
 

The Idea

RCU identified the core areas of opportunity for AlUla to be heritage, arts and nature. While the futuristic city of NEOM will represent the future, AlUla is firmly in the space of preserving the past. ​

Our key focus would be on the Winter at Tantora Festival - a series of themed weekends that highlight numerous excursions and experiences, alongside notable musical performances, Winter at Tantora will act as a ‘sneak peek’ for what to expect at Al-Ula with the aim of engaging with opinion leaders and high-net worth travelers. ​

This was an opportunity to test the offering for international visitors as accelerate awareness about AlUla. ​

• 28.9 billion impressions in 195 countries ​

• 693.4k engagements ​

• 2000% increase on mentions of AlUla​

• Following the Festival 88% of visitors see AlUla as an undiscovered heritage site ​

• 76% see it as an emerging hub for arts and culture in the Middle East ​

• 89% would return in 5 years