Noor Riyadh, the Largest Light Art Festival in the World, will return for its third edition in Riyadh, with the festival running from November 30 to December 16, 2023, and the exhibition from November 30, 2023 to March 2, 2024. The citywide festival will illuminate Riyadh with large-scale light art installations, building projections, performances, and more.…
Complex cultural heritage of north-west Arabia, especially AlUla revealed
Recent discoveries by leading international archaeologists and researchers have helped to shed new light on the complex cultural heritage landscape of ancient AlUla and the wider north-west Arabia region. The findings, presented in the new book ‘Revealing Cultural Landscapes in North-West Arabia’ Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, vol. 51’, are…
Inaugural AlUla World Archaeology Summit to take place at ancient crossroads of civilisations in north-west Arabia
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is gathering international leaders from the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage, media, innovation, entrepreneurship and more for the first-of-its-kind AlUla World Archaeology Summit. From 13 – 15 September at Maraya in AlUla, this invite-only event will feature panels and informal discussions centred on advancing the field of archaeology at…
New Line Aroya Cruises To Offer Cruises in Saudi Arabia
Cruise Saudi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, is establishing Aroya Cruises. The name Aroya is derived from the two words “Arabian” and “roya,” which mean “vision” or “dream,” respectively. Supporting Cruise Saudi’s aims of hosting 1.3 million cruise travellers by 2035 and generating 50,000 jobs directly and indirectly, the…
Gold Medal launch Dubai & Arabia brochure with double rewards for agents
The UK’s trade-only worldwide tour operator, Gold Medal, are excited to launch their Dubai & Arabia brochure, which features twelve new properties; eight new experiences; and 116 pages of holiday inspiration for agents. Agents can expect to see new properties including Voco Dubai, located in the currently trending area of Palm West Beach, and inspirational…
Saudi Arabia announces new instant e-visa options for visitors
Saudi Arabia recently announced new instant e-visa options that will facilitate UK, US, and Schengen visa holders, as well as permanent residents of the UK, US, and any EU country to obtain tourist e-visas to Saudi through www.mofa.gov.sa. Saudi Arabia previously extended regulations to provide visas upon arrival to the six categories, and this comes as…
‘Advanced contact’ between Israel and Saudi Arabia for direct flights for Hajj travel
Saudi Arabia and Israel are continuing to cultivate “advanced contact” to facilitate direct flights to the Kingdom for Palestinians and Israeli Muslims intending to travel for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. According to the Israeli Channel 12, the two countries are holding discussions regarding the launch of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Saudi airports in order…
Saudi Arabia To Launch New City Bigger Than New York Starting Next Year
Saudi Arabia has taken on a huge project that should have travelers excited for many years to come. A new ‘smart city’ projected to be 33 times bigger than New York City is being constructed on barren land in the Arabian desert. With high hopes of challenging the status quo, the city, backed by a…
Hotel Review: Habitas, Alula, Saudi Arabia
Habitas is an extraordinary collection of 96 luxury villas located in a canyon in the Saudi Arabian desert. It took me, a city dweller hailing from London 4,272 miles away from Saudi Araba, a while to acclimatise to the otherworldly terrain of the Habitas resort and its Beduin-like vibe – ephemeral even. I had arrived…
Saudi Arabia ranks first among Arab nations for inbound visitors
Saudi Arabia registered more international arrivals than any other Arab nation during the first nine months of 2022, as government officials target 100 million annual visitors by the end of this decade. Owing to these unprecedented numbers, the Kingdom’s burgeoning tourism sector will represent a key focus at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which will…
