AlUla Framework Plan Endorsed in G20 Leaders’ Declaration

At the recent 2020 G20 Riyadh Summit, the Leaders’ Declaration not only recognised but endorsed the AlUla Framework for Inclusive Community Development through Tourism to facilitate the travel and tourism sector’s recovery from the pandemic – an inclusive recovery that will tackle inequalities.

Under the leadership of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), Buro Happold together with Allies and Morrison, Prior and Partners and AS Urban helped to develop the AlUla Framework Plan to guide the sustainable development of AlUla, a region in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. AlUla contains remarkable heritage dating back more than 200,000 years including the Nabataean tombs of Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The work aims to protect and safeguard this precious heritage while further advancing the contribution of the tourism sector as an effective means towards fairer growth and advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The team compiled a strong baseline data-set for the AlUla region to support a full range of development plans, policies and proposals including infrastructure, urban design and tourism development, as well as nature and heritage conservation, to provide the foundations for the Commission to capitalise on the unique cultural and natural attributes of the AlUla region in a sustainable manner.

Under the leadership of the 2020 G20 Saudi Presidency, the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the G20 Tourism Working Group, the G20 encourages “the use of the AlUla Framework to create jobs, empower local communities, especially rural, safeguard the planet, and preserve cultural heritage.” The Framework provides specific recommendations and tools to support both governments and all other key stakeholders in the tourism sector to foster a truly holistic and integrated approach to inclusive community development through tourism.

We are thrilled that the G20 leaders have endorsed the recommendations of the AlUla Framework.

Alan Harbinson, Buro Happold

“We are thrilled that the G20 leaders have endorsed the recommendations of the AlUla Framework. Our contribution, alongside Allies and Morrison, to the framework will hopefully lay the foundation for an inclusive and equitable recovery for the vital sector of tourism,” says Alan Harbinson of Buro Happold.

“AlUla is a truly special place, and we are delighted that it has been recognised by the G20 Declaration. For all of us who have been involved in the project, it has been a unique opportunity to discover and safeguard one of the world’s stunning cultural landscapes,” says Simon Gathercole of Allies and Morrison.

For more on the Framework visit: AlUla Framework for Inclusive Community Development Through Tourism.pdf (g20.org) and the G20 Leaders’ Declaration from the Riyadh Summit visit G20 Riyadh Summit Leaders Declaration – Pressroom – G20.