Many travelers are driven by a desperate desire to reach the last great undiscovered place before the rest of the tourist hordes. In 2025, though, that elusive location is becoming something of a mirage.

That is particularly apparent in Saudi Arabia, which opened itself to tourism nearly six years ago (before, only Muslims, traveling for religious reasons, had been allowed to enter). Things now are changing so fast in the desert kingdom that there has been a Dubai-esque feeling to its warp-speed transformation. My online visa application was approved in less than three hours. I almost thought it was a hoax.

Nowhere is this “get there before it’s ruined” feeling more urgent than in Al-Ula, a vast desert landscape of towering sandstone and granite rock formations in the northwest of the country that is, for now, barely untouched by time. The wind- and human-sculpted tombs chiseled into these mountains were the southernmost reaches of the Nabatean empire, which famously built Petra, some 550 kilometers, or about 340 miles, to the north, in Jordan.

But Petra now offers a glimpse of what Al-Ula will no doubt become in the next 10 to 20 years: dozens, if not hundreds, of hotels; donkey rides to overcrowded ruins; and tourists vying for the perfect Instagram shot.

That is, of course,66jogo if Saudi Arabia’s efforts to modify its global public image are successful. Its human rights violations, religious extremism and history of oppressing women already keep many travelers from even considering a visit. And alcohol still is banned, although there have been whispers that restriction is being reconsidered in light of the country’s role as host of the 2034 World Cup and as part of Saudi Vision 2030, the country’s ambitious project to diversify its economy.

Much of the rest of the kingdom has been moving forward, regardless. Riyadh, the country’s capital, and Jeddah, its major port, are both bustling modern cities, and women are now allowed to drive and travel freely around the country without a male escort, which was unthinkable even a decade ago.

Overall, violent crime fell 3 percent and property crime fell 2.6 percent in 2023, with burglaries down 7.6 percent and larceny down 4.4 percent. Car thefts, though, continue to be an exception, rising more than 12 percent from the year before.

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