AlUla Moments signs three-year sponsorship agreement with SAUDIA as AlUla Skies’ designated Presenting Partner

AlUla Moments signed a sponsorship agreement with SAUDIA to present AlUla Skies festival across the coming 3 years. The agreement was made following the success of the first edition of AlUla Skies presented by SAUDIA. Running from the 27th of February to the 12th of March, the festival attracted visitors from across the kingdom and the GCC and showcased activities that celebrated the perennial connection between AlUla’s skies and the city’s inhabitants. 

AlUla Skies included a variety of sky activities, including hot air ballooning, night-time glow shows, helicopter rides, and Constellations, a unique high-tech stargazing experience which saw over 2000 drones taking to AlUla’s skies. The festival celebrated the celestial and the musical in a concert titled Symphony under the Stars, which utilized cutting-edge technology to highlight AlUla’s natural and astronomical heritage. 

The AlUla Moments and SAUDIA agreement aims to strengthen the existing collaboration between the two entities, jointly promote the AlUla Skies event to an even wider audience and bring both the event and the airline’s activities to valued customers from both parties. 

The signing ceremony was held on the 11th of March at AlUla Airport in the presence of Khaled Tash, SAUDIA Group Chief Marketing Officer, and Phillip Jones, Chief Destination Management and Marketing Officer at the Royal Commission for AlUla. The three-year agreement outlines the different areas of cooperation between AlUla Moments and SAUDIA on various AlUla Skies activities and events and will allow for more strategic and coordinated AlUla Skies promotional campaigns for in the years to come.

“We are joining forces with SAUDIA to position AlUla as a year-round destination and the place to be for arts, culture, nature and adventure events during the AlUla Moments season. As well as local and regional visitors, AlUla will leverage SAUDIA’s extensive network to welcome international visitors eager to explore the ancient city and our events including the newly inaugurated AlUla Skies. The sponsorship agreement we signed today highlights the invaluable role SAUDIA plays in supporting our endeavors to reach our visitor targets and share our stunning destination with the world,” said Mr. Jones.

Mr. Tash, commenting on the sponsorship agreement, said: “SAUDIA, together with AlUla Moments, will introduce this magnificent heritage city to countless guests every year through some of the most innovative events and activations, both on land and up in the air. We look forward to growing this partnership, in line with our role as the Wings of Vision 2030 and taking AlUla Skies to even greater heights.”

SAUDIA and AlUla enjoy an already fruitful and multifaceted relationship, with SAUDIA recently launching the airline's first-ever polo team. The three-man team competed in the Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo 2022, the luxury equestrian event of AlUla Moments season, which ran on the 11th to the 12th of February. The event reaffirmed SAUDIA’s commitment to contributing to the growth of the Kingdom’s tourism and sports sectors.

The team’s participation came as part of SAUDIA’s strategic partnership with AlUla Moments and is the latest in a series of collaborations designed to highlight the historic destination’s rich heritage and natural beauty. The national carrier has contributed to a variety of events and activations showcasing the ancient desert city’s unique attractions.

The first-ever Museum in the Sky flight, another stand-out event made possible through this collaboration, highlighted AlUla’s cultural significance as a living museum and the home of Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla also hosted the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup 2022, a challenging equestrian event that attracted 200 riders from more than 30 countries to compete across 120 km of rugged desert terrain.

In January of this year, SAUDIA inaugurated direct flights from Paris to AlUla to offer guests from France and neighboring countries the opportunity to be among the first international tourists to explore AlUla. 

SAUDIA continues its commitment towards bringing visitors and tourists to AlUla with 38 weekly domestic flights from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam that are operating all year-round.