Al-Ula: First Middle Eastern City to Achieve Prestigious Global Tourism Accreditation
The ancient Oasis City of Al-Ula became the accredited-first destination in the Middle East from Destinations International, a USA-based global association for destination professionals. The announcement was made at Destinations International Annual Convention in Florida opening.
The accreditation represents the Destination Marketing Accreditation Programme, designed to foster industry standards of quality and professionalism among destination organisations. This achievement occurred a year after Al-Ula had made history by becoming the first Middle Eastern member of Destinations International.
With its year-round events calendar and authentic hospitality offerings, Al-Ula is one of Saudi Arabia’s premier sites for tourism. It has, since 2019, opened its arms to international tourists. This new certification underlines Al-Ula’s aspiration to pioneer tourism excellence globally by focusing on sustainable and community-centred experiences.
According to Phillip Jones, Chief Tourism Officer at the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, “The achievement of accreditation through the Destination Marketing Accreditation Programme is a great success for Al-Ula in our drive to set up a world-class, progressive tourism industry and ecosystem. This seals our commitment to the highest standards for our destination, thus building trust with visitors, the community, stakeholders, and our partners.” It’s in participation with Destinations International—a centre of best practice—that we can share our unique approach with the world and demonstrate why Al-Ula, at the present moment, is one of the most innovative and sought-after luxury destinations in the world.
These destination organisations must accredit more than 100 performance standards in the governance, financial, human resource, sales and marketing, stakeholder engagement, and destination development areas to achieve DMAP accreditation. The standards have been prescribed by an independent panel of industry experts and destination organisations’ representatives. They have periodic revisions to keep them relevant in relation to the changing best practices within the industry.
These are not the first recognitions that Al-Ula has received in recent times. The 2024 World Travel Awards awarded Al-Ula the Middle East’s Leading Festival and Event Destination, Saudi Arabia’s Leading Cultural Tourism Project, and the Middle East’s Leading Cultural Tourism Project during May. Last May, the Royal Commission for Al-Ula acquired a five-star rating for organisational excellence from the European Foundation for Quality Management and the Middle East Facility Management Association Excellence Award.
With regional and global honours, Al-Ula continues to further assert its top position as a luxury boutique heritage destination with deep connections to arts and culture, natural beauty, holistic wellness, and exciting adventures.
