KSA-based and international falconers will compete for record total prize pot of SAR 60m ($16m) at AlUla’s Mughayra Heritage Sports Village from December 28th to January 5th.
16.12.2023 - 14:34 / matadornetwork.com
Since opening its doors to tourism in 2019, Saudi has emerged as a top destination for travelers seeking unique experiences. The World Tourism Organization estimates that 18 million tourists visited Saudi last year — and with good reason. The country is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites and clear waters along its 1,100-mile coastline with the Red Sea (locals say it’s “better than the Maldives”). You’ll also find centuries-old archaeological wonders and the world’s largest palm oasis. Here are five spots to confound your expectations and thoroughly blow your mind on a trip to Saudi.
Photo: artisticArtbycreative/Shutterstock
In the heart of the country lies a city that somehow mixes traditional Najdi architecture (think mud-brick citadels) with sites like the 900-foot-tall Kingdom Centre and events including the Diriyah E-Prix racing championship. Start your capital visit at the Saudi National Museum and Al Murabba Historical Palace in the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, where you can learn about Saudi’s meteoric rise from a small settlement on the banks of Wadi Hanifa to the 93-year-old country it is today.
To witness this history in person, head to Diriyah — the birthplace of modern Saudi. Stroll through refurbished alleys and green spaces that are reminiscent of Saudi’s past. Stop by Masmak Fort to pick up some trivia about the unification of the country and authentic souvenirs at the adjacent Souq Al Zal. You can’t go wrong with an ornamental rug…if you can squeeze it into your suitcase.
For an evening of entertainment, head to the Boulevard Riyadh City and Boulevard World, part of winter’s ongoing Riyadh Season. With more than 220 acres of rides, activities, live performance stages, restaurants, and retail outlets, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
Photo: Saudi Tourism Authority
The highland province of Asir is a favorite among locals for its yearlong mild climate and lush landscapes. And those cool temps and the mountainous terrain draw all kinds of hikers and adventurers. Not to be missed is the picturesque Rijal Almaa, a 900-year-old heritage village featuring 60 stone fortresses that look like gingerbread houses. Their inner rooms are decorated with Al Qatt Al Asiri, an indigenous artform characterized by bold colors and geometric designs. This oral tradition of painting has been passed down through the ages from mothers to daughters and is now considered an intangible heritage of the country.
Walk through the village square and sample local specialties like honey or Aseeda (porridge), or blend in with the locals by donning a flower crown — the famed Flower Men of Asir wear jasmine and basil hair crowns as accessories. If you time your visit with a national holiday or festival, you can also
KSA-based and international falconers will compete for record total prize pot of SAR 60m ($16m) at AlUla’s Mughayra Heritage Sports Village from December 28th to January 5th.
As part of its goal to conserve and celebrate traditional heritage sports that have deep roots in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the region, and further afield, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) will host the first-ever AlUla Falcon Cup. The landmark sporting event, taking place at AlUla’s Mughayra Heritage Sports Village from December 28th to January 5th, will promote the rich history, carefully practiced skills, and important traditions of falconry to a global audience of visiting falconers and tourists, as well as members of the AlUla community.
Saudi Arabia has bold ambitions to open to tourists and its airline industry is a big part of the plan. Riyadh Air, a new carrier established with support of the Public Investment Fund, ordered a large number of Boeing 787 aircraft in 2023 with the aim to start operations in 2025.
Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flynas has hired Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital for a potential initial public offering on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), according to a Bloomberg report.
When you think of a cruise vacation, you probably imagine sailing the tropical waters of the Caribbean, or navigating around the Greek islands. Your brain likely isn’t conjuring images of the sandswept deserts of Saudi Arabia. But Saudi Arabia strives to make itself more attractive for international tourism — making the process of getting a visa very easy, and establishing tourism-specific destinations like NEOM and AlUla. And thanks to its efforts, it’s become a desirable new destination for Red Sea cruises. Since the first cruise to Saudi Arabia in January 2022, sailings to the kingdom have multiplied. Right now Jeddah is the country’s main cruise port, though as tourism development continues throughout the region, more ports are likely to open. Whether you’re a cruise enthusiast or a newbie, now’s the time to consider a Saudi Arabia cruise.
Tourism leaders from around the world will join together in Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, for 2023’s United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Day on September 27 and 28. Global tourism ministers and others in the industry will participate in events to connect and collaborate. The location of this year’s event shows how far tourism has come in the few short years since Saudi Arabia opened to tourists in 2019.
NEOM is central to Saudi Arabia’s push to encourage tourism and emerge as one of the world’s leading vacation destinations. Al’Ula and mega-projects inside of NEOM such as The Line and a new island destination called Sindalah have been the biggest locations to make headlines lately, but there are other moving pieces equally worthy of getting excited about. Take, for example, Leyja, a mountainous region within NEOM slated to be developed as a major tourism hub with three new futuristic hotels built right into the mountains.
What’s happening right now in Saudi is groundbreaking — literally and figuratively. Huge developments, so massive they’ve been dubbed “giga projects,” are transforming the country like nowhere else in the world, bringing in new attractions, opening next-level luxurious hotels, and even creating entirely new cities.
At first, the idea of building an entire city in the shape of a straight line might sound puzzling. After all, wouldn’t it take that much longer to get from one end to the other? Would the traffic going from end to end be terrible? It turns out that the straight line model is actually based on efficiency of transportation, and when done right, it can be an incredible advantage to other layouts. That’s the goal with “The Line,” Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar futuristic city that’s an ambitious feat of engineering. The planned 105-mile long city in NEOM, in the northwest section of the country, is slated to cut across the desert in a straight line, hold nine million people, and serve as an almost utopian example of what cities could look like.
Since opening to tourists in 2019, Saudi Arabia has quickly become a world leader in travel. The country was elected as the Chair of the United Nations World Tourism Organization in 2023, and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism aims to welcome 100 million tourist visits by 2023. Such rapid growth takes massive investment — something Saudi Arabia has already proven to be more than willing to do successfully. With increased cruises bringing passengers to Saudi Arabia and a manageable visa application process, it’s hard to imagine another country more poised to dominate the global tourism market in upcoming years.
In 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia officially opened its doors to international travelers, issuing tourist visas for the first time in history. Previously, only those traveling to Saudi Arabia for work or Muslim pilgrims were permitted to enter the country. Today, citizens of 57 nations, including the United States, can obtain an eVisa to travel to Saudi Arabia — and the application process is simple, fast, and relatively cheap.
Located in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, Riyadh, the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia, stands as a testament to the region’s rich tapestry of culture, history, and modernity.