Dubai doubles down on social media with ‘influencer academy’

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Sunsets, skyscrapers, shopping sprees. Type #Dubai into any social media platform and you will find thousands of them. Whether they’re promotional films or holiday snaps, the quality and reach of these images can vary widely.

Now Dubai’s tourism authority is setting up an “influencer academy” to teach aspiring digital creators how to make the most compelling content.

Working with travel content agency Beautiful Destinations, the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing – better known as Visit Dubai – is hoping to boost visitor numbers as well as the content creator market.

The regional market is still small – valued at about $250 million. Worldwide, the creator economy could be worth $500 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs.

“We’re essentially creating a new professional category within the tourism ecosystem,” says Jeremy Jauncey, CEO of Beautiful Destinations.

The UAE has a high digital engagement rate – more than 11.5 million social media profiles for a population of almost the same number. Residents spend more than eight hours online a day, according to 2024 data, and nearly three of those are spent on social media.

However, only about 4 percent of social media users in the Middle East are identified as creators – less than half the comparable figure for the US.

Across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, there are about 1.5 million active creators in the $250 million market, according to Abhishek Rajput, engagement manager at Dubai-based management consultancy Redseer Middle East.

“The region presents strong headroom for growth,” says Rajput.

For the aspiring social media stars who take the three-month course at the influencer academy, the money to be made will vary widely. 

Nano-influencers – those with 1,000 to 10,000 followers – can earn between AED500 and AED2,000 ($135-$545) per post, sccording to digital marketing company Alrwyt Alwash.

“Micro and nano-influencers, with their niche followings and genuine engagement, are now being seen as more impactful than traditional influencers,” says Sonal Chhiber, a corporate communications consultant based in Dubai.

However the mega-influencers – those with more than 1 million followers – can command rates as high as AED200,000 ($54,000) per post.

There are already 38 million videos tagged #Dubai on TikTok and more can be expected.

“Consumers, followers and audiences are shifting gears more towards video-focused content as opposed to pictures, thanks to TikTok videos, Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat Spotlight,” says Farah Mahmood, influencer marketing director at Agence L’eclat in Dubai.

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“People are consuming content more than ever, which shows the sheer size of the opportunity” says Ibrahim Hasan, regional head of digital at creative agency FP7 McCann.

In January, Dubai launched the Creators HQ incubation hub with 100 creators, enablers and supporters of the content industry from more than 20 countries. 

This included a AED150 million Creators Fund to support over 10,000 local creators.

As part of this initiative, content creators and influencers in the UAE are offered a golden visa with 10-year residency. 

“The influencer space used to be pretty casual; post a picture, get paid, move on,” says Ahmad Ammar, co-founder of AAVVA Fashion, and a television presenter and influencer.

“But now it’s much more structured; we need licences, proper invoicing and full documentation.”