Impact Measurement: Dubai’s first ever creative impact report shows culture is a huge economic driver for local and foreign investment
PROJECT: Capturing the tangible contribution of the creative economy in Dubai
As part of its long-term ambition to become the global capital of the creative economy, Dubai launched the Creative Dubai 2024 Impact Report – a first-of-its-kind assessment capturing the performance, challenges, and future opportunities of the city’s cultural and creative industries (CCI). Developed by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority in collaboration with DinarStandarde, the report outlines the tangible results of the emirate’s Creative Economy Strategy while positioning culture and creativity as central pillars of economic diversification, innovation, and social cohesion.
The report also highlights the integration of global frameworks such as UNESCO’s Framework for Cultural Statistics and WIPO’s copyright-based classifications into Dubai’s measurement methodology ensuring global comparability and policy relevance.
A growing creative enterprise sector, attracting foreign investment
The report reveals that in 2022, Dubai’s creative economy contributed AED 21.9 billion to GDP and supported over 175,000 jobs across core and related sectors. A strong rise in the number of creative enterprises – particularly micro and small businesses, which now make up nearly 80% of the sector – reflects the entrepreneurial dynamism of Dubai’s ecosystem. Design, audiovisual media, and digital content emerged as the fastest-growing segments, while cultural tourism and heritage-based industries continued to play an anchoring role in sustaining cultural identity and public engagement.
Internationally, Dubai has strengthened its position as a creative investment hub, ranking first globally in the number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects targeting the creative industries in both 2022 and 2023.
Aligning cultural policy and investment decisions
The Creative Dubai 2024 Impact Report has played a pivotal role in aligning policy and investment decisions across the public, private, and academic sectors. It helped shape Dubai Culture’s foresight and innovation strategies, guided the expansion of support programmes for creative entrepreneurs, and identified critical gaps in areas such as intellectual property integration, research, and R&D.
The report further reinforced Dubai’s positioning as a future-focused creative metropolis and supported the city’s successful bid to host global cultural events, including the World Cities Culture Summit 2024 and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference in 2025.
