The Need to Create an Egyptian Despacito

Creative industries are considered the fastest-growing sectors in the world economy providing income, jobs and export earnings according to a report by the United Nations. The UKs creative industries contribute almost 90bn net to GDP, while in the US it contributes $698 billion to the nations economy, according to a new report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Endowment for the Arts.

What are creative industries?

According to the British government Department for Culture, Media and Sport creative industries are those which origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property. This includes 9 sectors:

Advertising and marketing Architecture Crafts - Design: product, graphic and fashion design - film, TV, video, radio and photography - software and computer services Publishing - Museums, galleries and libraries - Music, performing and visual arts.

It was mainstream before considering these industries as luxury however they are becoming now an essential part of world economies and it must get the attention it is worthy of. In a country like Egypt, currently suffering from dire economic hurdles, there is an urgent need for the government to recognize the wasted opportunities in this important sector. We already have the infrastructure for creative industries in Egypt ranging from having very talented craftsmen, big advertising and production companies to amazing architecture, museums and galleries. The main reason those industries are suffering stems from bureaucracy and negligence.

Wasted opportunities

Take for example the issue of getting a permit to shoot a movie in Egypt, it is a real nightmare for filmmakers. The procedure requires paying visits to: Cinema Industry Chamber and Cinema Syndicate - General Directorate for the Censorship of Artistic Works - A public notary office & the Interior Ministry. A filmmaker must have a green-light from each of these places and if one of them denies you the permit then you are a lost case, especially if they do not approve the script!

A look at Morocco can tell us how much Egypt is missing out. The neighboring North African country gained 70 Million $ in 2014 and 40.6 Million $ in 2015 from foreign film investment alone. Many of the famous Hollywood movies were shot in Morocco like: Spectre - The Bourne Ultimatum Gladiator Inception..etc. Ait Benhaddou and Essaouira in Morocco where parts of the TV hit Game of Thrones were shot became famous tourist attractions.

Even when we get to have great cultural/artistic/sports events, they tend to pass without many of us noticing. There is no proper marketing for the events, and there is not even a website gathering all the expected events during the year in Egypt. Cairo360 is doing an effort in this regard, but the ministry of Culture is out of sight here. A great example is Visit Dubai website which announces upcoming events, it shows how this Emirati city is taking culture and entertainment seriously. Dubais efforts to lure tourists and invest in creative industries made it the 4th most visited city in the world in 2016 according to a Business Insider report.

Although our soft power is not strong as before but Egypt is not short of artistic talents and our movies and music still get much appeal in the Arab world, but again we are unable to make use of it. One song Despacito is there to prove that how one songs success exploited right can make a big difference. Luis Fonsi song became a hit all over the world and got around 2.5 M hits, it was so successful that it boosted the economy of Puerto Rico . Tourists starting pouring into the country because tour operators in Puerto Rico included some of the places that served as the stage for the production of the music video in their tours, and this made tourism go up by 45%.

Turkey is already ahead of us in this domain, as locations where dramas and movies are attracting huge numbers of tourists. Turkey is looking to maximize on this trend and increase the number of tourists that visits every year. According to Salih Ozer, attach of Culture and Information, Turkey to the UAE number of guests arriving from countries where Turkish TV dramas like Al Eshek Al Mamno (Forbidden Love) and Hareem Al Sultan (The Magnificent Century) has increased by 15 per cent since the shows went on air.

Creative industries can help in curing our ailing economy in Egypt but bureaucracy and negligence are costing us much money in a time when every piaster is needed.