Sustainable Tourism is more than a word for His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is known to be a global and local leader with a vision for developing the travel and tourism industry at home and abroad.
Sustainable tourism, climate change, and keeping the cultural value for a unique Saudi Arabian tourism experience are top priorities in the Kingdom.
With HE Gloria Guevara on the ministers’ side, the minister allowed her to put a dream team together that ensures this priority is well-preserved and expanded.

Under his leadership, new regions are being developed for tourism. One of these regions is AlUla.
AlUla, Saudi Arabia
AlUla is a place of extraordinary human and natural heritage.
Visitors to AlUla journey through a living museum of preserved tombs, sandstone outcrops, historic dwellings, and natural and human-made monuments with 200,000 years of largely unexplored human history.
Known as the hidden gem of tourism, the AlUla in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been a crossroads of ancient civilizations — a place of deep history but constantly evolving.
AlUla is an extraordinary example of this; its visitors can soon help write the future pages of its history.
The local arm of tourism leadership in AlUla is the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).
RCU expanded the accommodation offering in AlUla with Dar Tantora by The House Hotel, an immersive and authentic hospitality experience in AlUla Old Town.
The project delivers on the Journey Through Time master plan in alignment with the Sustainability Charter for AlUla.
Dar Tantora will have a pool, spa, restaurant, and café.
RCU is developing the 30-room landmark property by restoring several historical mud-brick buildings using contemporary engineering methods and time-honored techniques.
The development will showcase the Old Town village as a vibrant cultural hub. The rooms will be adorned with traditional décor, furniture, and artistic accents, incorporating storytelling elements that capture the area’s intangible heritage.
Local artisans received specialized training to participate in the restoration endeavors.
The project reflects RCU’s comprehensive efforts to revive AlUla Old Town with tourism as the development and job creation engine.
The unique concept for House Hotels
Part of the Kerten Hospitality brand, the journey for the House Hotel concept started with the idea to create luxury boutique hotels in key locations where customers would dream of staying while submersing themselves in the local neighborhood ambiance.
The vision was that design did not need to be sacrificed for value, and that honest pricing would drive loyal guests.
The House Hotel’s name has since established itself as a coveted luxury boutique hotel brand with a global reputation for quality and individuality, grabbing numerous international awards each year.
House Hotels have developed numerous new concepts applying our same hospitality philosophies.