AlUla has won Gold in the Nature Positive category at the 2026 International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) Awards. Revealed alongside World Tourism Day, the honour recognises the region's approach to development, which puts wildlife recovery, habitat restoration, and land protection at the centre of its long-term tourism plans.
The prestigious ICRT Responsible Tourism Awards are globally revered for spotlighting destination authorities and organisations that actively use travel as a force for environmental, social, and economic good. In awarding AlUla the top Gold distinction, judges commended the destination’s nature-first philosophy, particularly its deep-rooted collaboration with international scientists, conservation biologists, and ecological researchers.
Far from being a passive background for luxury travel, the natural environment in AlUla is treated as a primary stakeholder. Development across the region is rigorously benchmarked against the AlUla Sustainability Charter, an overarching framework mandating a light-touch, low-impact footprint designed to ensure that tourism actively enriches the surrounding ecosystem rather than depleting it.
Spanning approximately 22,561 square kilometres, AlUla’s approach to conservation operates at a dramatic geographical scale. To date, more than 50% of the destination’s total land area has been officially designated as protected nature reserves.
Key milestones achieved under its ecological restoration strategy include:
- Mass Afforestation: Over 500,000 native trees have been planted across desert and oasis zones, revitalising native plant life and strengthening the resilience of fragile microclimates.
- Wildlife Protection: More than 1,500 native animals—including indigenous ungulates and desert fauna — have been re-wilded back into their natural habitats.
- Large-Scale Land Recovery: Within the dramatic sandstone expanses of Sharaan National Park alone, targeted land rehabilitation efforts have covered over 74,000 hectares to promote natural habitat recovery and protect the area's rich biodiversity.
- Botanical Conservation: With more than 500 documented plant species calling the oasis and surrounding canyons home, specialised conservation teams continue to restore natural habitats, ensuring the long-term survival of the region's flora.
AlUla’s environmental conservation works hand-in-hand with the preservation of its extraordinary cultural landscape. Renowned globally for its lush, ancient oases and dramatic rock formations, the destination is home to Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its carved Nabataean monumental tombs.
By aligning rigorous environmental science with heritage protection, AlUla is establishing a blueprint for high-value, low-impact tourism. The ICRT Gold award reinforces how a destination can successfully expand its international profile while safeguarding the natural landscapes, ancient heritage, and local communities that define its soul.
