Building a Tourism Framework for Three of Saudi Arabia’s Most Ancient & Valued UNESCO Heritage Sites
The Royal Commission for Al Ula
Destination: AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Engagement: 2020
The Royal Commission for AlUla, and its French project partner, l’agence française pour le développement d’AlUla, retained Twenty31 along with France-based INCA Architectes to develop a tourism master plan for three of Saudi Arabia’s most ancient and important tourism UNESCO World Heritage sites: Hegra, Dadan, and Jabal Ikmah. The engagement necessitated the development of design layouts, general zoning analysis, customer profiling, and visitor journey concepts.
Visitor profiles
Using data from baseline research we conducted for the Royal Commission for AlUla in 2019 and our proprietary Intrepid Traveller Segmentation model, we developed detailed profiles of prospective visitors. Profiles included demographic and psychographic assessment, lifestyle and tourism interests, typical visitor journeys, and brand perceptions.
Capacity assessment
Over the course of ten years, we conducted a detailed analysis of flight and site capacity to AlUla; this informed infrastructure requirements.
Benchmarking
We assessed 1,000+ historical preservation and conservation sites globally that share traits with the sites in AlUla. From that vast list we systematically screened and then identified seven that could serve as blueprints for the future sustainable tourism development of the AlUla sites. Our deep dive into these seven sites included interviews with respective site subject matter experts to deduce insights applicable to the development of the AlUla sites for a modern, high-value, sustainable tourism visitor.
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Building a Tourism Framework for Three of Saudi Arabia’s Most Ancient & Valued UNESCO Heritage Sites
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