Creative tourism: A $176 billion industry?

A recent report by Growth Market Reports indicates that the ‘creative tourism’ market was worth almost $90 billion in 2024, and is projected to grow at over 8% a year from 2025 to 2033. This would make creative tourism worth a whopping $176 billion by the end of 2033.

Just a minute….isn’t creative tourism a niche market?

Actively engaging with arts and crafts on holiday is a growing trend

Yes, indeed, but it depends how you define it, and how you measure it. The Growth Markets Report is based on lumping Cultural Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Culinary Tourism, Eco-Tourism and ‘Others’ together. This is justified on the basis that  “millennials and Generation Z” are “increasingly seeking meaningful and transformative experiences”. It also includes a wide range of different products, including “Workshops, Festivals & Events, Art & Craft, Culinary Experiences and ‘Others’”.

The total tourism market is forecast to be worth US$ 17.97 trillion by 2033. If these forecasts are to be believed, then creative tourism would account for almost 10% of tourism revenues by 2033.  That doesn’t sound particularly outlandish for a sector that includes many different types of tourism experiences. Caroline Couret, the Director of the Creative Tourism Network also told us “There's a real buzz around creative tourism lately and it's inspiring to see how people are engaging with it.” This buzz also includes a growing body of academic literature – the latest Creative Tourism Bibliography indicates that there are now over 20,000 research sources related to creative tourism.