The “creative economy” has become an important part of global economy during the past few years, as countries have realized the importance of knowledge-based industries. This includes creative industries, which have become an important component in the economies of many countries, contributing to the gross domestic product and providing job opportunities.
Within this context, Arab Gulf countries are making unremitting efforts to improve creative industries considering they are the engine of economic growth, and a major factor to enhance their cultural status on the regional and global levels. Gulf countries have all the capabilities needed to be global pioneers in this creative field of economy. That is because they encourage creativity and innovation and have an increased desire for economic diversity after the crisis of the drop of oil prices
Broad Concept
Promoting the concept of “creative economy” began with the British author John Howkins in 2001. He used this term for 15 activities that began with arts and expanded to include science and technology. Back then, Howkins estimated that the creativity business across the world was worth USD 2.2 trillion.
In a more serious attempt to frame the concept of “creative economy,” the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its 2008 report about evaluating creative economy across the world that creative economy is the pattern of economic activity that is based on utilizing creative assets, which may produce economic growth and lead to economic development.
The UNCTAD defined creative industries as the goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital as their primary input. They include four groups, which are: heritage, arts, media and functional creations. It defined them as such:
1. Heritage: UNCTAD categorized it into two subgroups. The first one is traditional cultural expressions and they include arts, crafts, festivals and celebrations. The second one is cultural sites and they include archaeological sites, museums, libraries and exhibitions.
2. Arts: This includes creative industries based on art and culture. This category is divided into visual arts, which includes paintings, sculptures, photography and antiques, and performing arts including music, theatre, opera and the circus.
3. Media: This includes two subgroups, which produce creative content to communicate with a wide audience. The first subgroup is publishing and printed media such as books, press and other publications, and audiovisuals including film, television and radio.
4. Functional creations: It encompasses industries directed towards creating goods and services, which are specified by the tastes of consumers and the dynamism of the global market. It is divided into three subgroups. The first one is design and it includes graphic, fashion, jewelry and toys. The second one is new media and it includes softwares, video games and digital creative content. The third one is creative services and it includes architectural services, advertising, cultural and recreational services and creative research.
Gulf Foundations
While developing creative industries, the Gulf experience depended on basic foundations. The most prominent ones are:
1. Diverse mixture: Arab Gulf countries’ interest in developing creative industries began within the context of developing future visions of their national economies particularly of the culture and tourism sectors. For example, Abu Dhabi adopted a plan to develop its cultural and historical heritage within its 2030 Vision. The Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030 aspires to turn Qatar into a regional cultural center.
Gulf countries thus sought to launch several cultural and creative products in the past years. This was not limited to abstract cultural products or activities, but expanded to include other creative industries with characteristics related to commerce or the market.
Within this context, Gulf Cooperation Council countries became interested in many creative activities including museums, cultural events, art exhibitions and cinema festivals, such as the Dubai International Film Festival.
Gulf countries also managed to develop highly competent media industries and gained a good regional and global reputation in this field. Some Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates worked on launching new creative activities that have a high economic value. An example of these activities is the local design industry, which the UAE has worked on developing since 2013.
2. Specialized areas: One of the major solutions, which Gulf countries adopted to develop creative industries, is inaugurating specialized cities with organizational, legislative and investment characteristics. An example is Dubai Media City, which was established in 2001 and twofour54 media free zone that was established in 2008. Both are free zones with tax and customs’ privileges.
In April 2017, Saudi Arabia announced launching Al-Qidiya Project. It is the largest cultural, sports and entertainment city in the world. The Saudi Vision 2030 also included establishing the largest Islamic museum in the world.
3. Continuous development: Arab Gulf countries are keen to resume developing creative industries to include other activities that have an added value and high economic worth. Within this context, the UAE established the Dubai Design District, D3, in 2013. It is expected to be a leap in the design and fashion industry in Dubai and to be worth USD 35.9 billion by 2019. This increase is more than half of its worth in 2010. In February 2017, Sharjah launched its first copyright management center. This was an efficient solution to guarantee intellectual property rights as the center monitors benefit from intellectual property, negotiates with the beneficiaries, and collects receivables on behalf of the rights’ owners.
4. Promising investments: Gulf countries are set to resume their investments in a number of promising cultural projects. Saudi Arabia is expected to invest around USD 2 billion to develop the sector of cultural tourism as part of its Vision 2030. In 2015, the Sultanate of Oman pledged to allocate investments worth USD 2.5 billion for the Omagine project on the gulf of Oman. The project includes many cultural, heritage, educational, entertainment and residential plans.
5. Partnership with the private sector: At the beginning of the Gulf experience to develop creative industries, the public or the governmental sector were leading the management of cultural and creative investments. Governments had realized that investing in creative activities does not only create economic values but also strengthens social and cultural development.
With the growth of commercial returns collected from this sector, Gulf countries enhanced partnership between the public and private sectors in several fields such as arts, culture and media to gain experience and attract global investments.
Vital Role
Creative industries are considered the engine of global economic growth. They are also the engine for creating job opportunities. According to UNESCO, creative industries provided around USD 2.250 trillion in returns in 2013. This is 3 percent of the world gross domestic product. They also created around 29.5 million job opportunities in the same year.
On the Gulf level, creative industries played a steady role in developing the economies of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Creative industries enhanced diversifying non-oil exports. According to UNCTAD, Gulf countries’ exports from creative products increased from USD 270 million in 2002 to around USD 16.5 billion in 2014. The biggest share of these industries was in design, crafts, new media and visual arts.
It is worth noting that the cultural and creative events organized by Arab Gulf countries have an important role in attracting a bigger number of visitors from across the world and activating Gulf tourism. Colliers International estimates that Dubai witnessed a 127 percent increase in the number of visitors to museums and art exhibitions. The number of visitors is therefore 1.7 million by the end of 2015 compared to 700,000 visitors in 2011.
In conclusion, Arab Gulf countries are greatly interested in creative industries, which are based on knowledge and innovation, and on directing the youths’ energy towards new ideas. When Gulf countries finish implementing their creative projects and initiatives, it is expected to improve their cultural status. Creative industries are expected to increase economic diversification transforming Gulf countries into a regional center for creative industries.
