التراث الثقافي ودوره في تحقيق التنمية السياحية المستدامة في مدينة العلا بالمملكة العربية السعودية

The tourism sector plays a pivotal role in the long-term sustainable development plans in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Due to the diversity and comprehensiveness of its terrain and climate. Interest in the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased to diversify sources of income within the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. Therefore, the Kingdom sought to develop areas with the elements of geographical and heritage attractions.  The city of Al-Ula, with its historical, cultural and natural heritage, is a world tourist destination for arts, heritage, culture and nature; Due to its targeting of tourism development, it was chosen by UNESCO as one of the most important historical sites in the world.
     Therefore, the current paper aimed to review the cultural impact of tourism development in the city of Al-Ula in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The cultural return means all the reflections on the elements of culture thanks to the geographical promotion of the region to determine the cultural impact, whether in the development of the cultural structure, the existence of an integrated tourism map for the region, the local/regional/global tourism promotion, and the launch of cultural projects "Valley of Art Project". The current paper will depend on several sources represented in research and scientific literature on the experience of tourism development in Al-Ula, as well as reports from the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate, the General Authority for Statistics, and the Ministry of Tourism. The results are linked to two aspects, firstly: the tourism development of the city of Al-Ula, and secondly: the cultural return as a result of that development, and then the possibility of transferring the experience of developing the city of Al-Ula and its cultural return to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which have a convergent geographical, historical, human and cultural nature.
Keywords: Tourism development, Cultural returns, Al-Ula city.