UN Tourism has partnered with UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle (UMHL), the entertainment-driven hospitality venture powered by Universal Music Group (UMG) and the Center 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 recognize 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.”
Realizing 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 optimized. 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.
