The Royal commission for AlUla (RCU) has launched its first destination brand campaign for the heritage and culture centrepiece of Saudi Arabia.
The campaign, developed by RCU with creative partners Leo Burnett, includes a 90 minute film directed by renowned cinematographer Bruno Aveillan and a suite of digital assets under the concept of The World’s Masterpiece.
In what is hoped will be a year of travel recovery, AlUla’s new brand campaign is targeting domestic travellers and aimed at increasing the number of visitors.
It is hoped that the campaign will help to achieve RCU’s visitor projections of 90,000 for 2021 and 130,000 for 2022.
“The World’s Masterpiece is a play on both the skilful artistry of ancient civilisations who carved elaborate artworks into the rocky outcrops, as well as the pure and unspoilt beauty of the geological rock formations and landscapes sculpted by nature,” said Phillip Jones, chief destination management and marketing officer, RCU.
AlUla re-opened key heritage sites to visitors in October as a new year-round offer.
“We know Saudis love to travel and we hope this campaign will inspire many of them to appreciate a must-see destination, a world masterpiece, closer to home,” said Jones.
He added: “Our heritage sites are now available all year-round and with new hotels, restaurants and adventure experiences including trails, bikes and buggies coming throughout 2021 we encourage visitors to book ahead, think about mid-week and plan to stay a few days.”
Phillip Jones, chief destination management and marketing officer, RCU
The film features a young Saudi woman reflecting on her time in AlUla and visiting key sites including UNESCO World Heritage Site Hegra, Dadan, Jabal Ikmah, AlUla Old Town and Jabal AlFil (Elephant Rock).
It was directed by Aveillan, one of the most sought-after commercials directors in the world who said: “It was such an honour and privilege to work on this project. An historic and important destination as this needed the appropriate gravitas… AlUla is a unique place in the world, we needed to make the first ever destination film with a style that no other place could imitate.”
While the campaign is aimed at the domestic market, Melanie de Souza, executive director marketing, RCU said she expects it to have some organic reach digitally in international markets.
“We are already receiving a lot of interest from international travellers excited to explore a new destination with such history including ancient civilisations from the Dadanites to the Nabataeans and the Romans.
“The travel landscape has been irreversibly altered, but as travel slowly resumes, research tells us people will be looking for meaningful travel, vast open spaces and close to nature experiences. AlUla is well-positioned in the domestic market for all of those reasons and internationally as a new and significant boutique heritage and culture destination,” said de Souza.
Located 1,100km from Riyadh, AlUla covers 22,561 sq km and includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and is comprised of more than 100 well preserved tombs with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement.
Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after conquering the Nabataeans.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is home to historical and archaeological sites such as Ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms; thousands of ancient rock art sites and inscriptions at Jabal Ikmah; Old Town, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes developed from at least the 12th century; and Hijaz Railway and Hegra Fort, key sites in the story and conquests of Lawrence of Arabia.
RCU was established by royal decree in July 2017 to protect and safeguard AlUla and it is embarking on a long-term plan to develop and deliver a sustainable transformation of the region.
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