UN Tourism has partnered with UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle (UMHL), the entertainment-driven hospitality venture powered by Universal Music Group (UMG) and the Centre for Music Ecosystems (CME) to harness the power of music tourism to drive economic growth and job creation, with a focus on high-growth-potential economies.
A new Memorandum of
Understanding, announced during the UN Tourism General Assembly in Riyadh, will
position the creative industries as a transformative force for economic growth
and community empowerment through tourism.
The partnership will
also draw on the influence on some of the biggest names in global
entertainment, including newly-appointed UN Tourism Ambassador Khabane Lame,
one of the world’s most influential digital creators with over 250 million
social media followers.
Together, they will
amplify the work to the global creative community, encouraging people to recognise
music as a viable path to entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic
mobility.
UN Tourism
Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says: “Tourism is at its strongest when
it amplifies creativity. By uniting the creative and tourism sectors, we can
strengthen local capacity, unlock innovation, and ensure the benefits of
culture and music reach communities everywhere.”
By uniting the
creative and tourism sectors, we can strengthen local capacity, unlock
innovation, and ensure the benefits of culture and music reach communities
everywhere
“Music has an
unmatched power to attract travellers, energise cities, and create opportunity,”
said Robert Lavia, CEO of UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle. “UMusic
Hospitality & Lifestyle was founded on the idea that music has the power to
shape economies and unite communities. By identifying and investing in cultural
hubs around the world, we’re not just creating destinations, we’re amplifying
the creative energy that drives tourism, inspires pride, and generates lasting
economic impact. This partnership with UN Tourism to enable CME to accelerate
its work in music tourism will demonstrate music’s power to deliver economic
growth for communities everywhere.”
Realising massive
potential of music tourism
The opportunity to
accelerate economic growth by unifying music and tourism is significant.
Tourism accounts for one in every nine jobs worldwide and music tourism is
estimated to reach a value of $267 billion by 2030. However, it remains a niche
sector.
The policies,
investments, and networks required to expand music tourism - particularly in
emerging markets - are not yet optimised.
This partnership aims
to align objectives and generate new data, research, and evidence to position
music tourism as a key driver of local economic development.
CME will issue a
series of reports in the coming year to further expand upon the potential of
music tourism.
This data will be put into action by UMHL,
which is developing hotels and creative hubs worldwide, to support all UN
Tourism stakeholders and signatories.
The new partnership broadens CME’s mission, adding music tourism to CME’s work with other parts of the music economy, where it is establishing the path, partnerships, and policies to accelerate the role and impact of music to eradicate poverty by driving growth, creating jobs, and improving local economic conditions. -TradeArabia News Service