Economic contribution of the creative sector in Georgia
Georgia has a reputation for creativity and design, along with a rich cultural history and tradition. Internationally, culture and creativity are increasingly recognised as important economic sectors and drivers of growth for other sectors.
In Georgia, the creative sector made up 1.5% of national production in 2015. This share had strongly increased from 0.9% in 2010. However, most of the activity in the sector and nearly all growth stem from the advertising industry alone. Some other creative industries that often are important growth drivers such as software or design appear to be very small. Future demand for creative services and growth complementarities can emerge from the dynamic tourism, textiles and beverages industries. However, the absence of an advanced industrial sector limits the innovative contributions the creative sector could deliver for Georgia’s economy. Nevertheless, potential may develop from very small beginnings for example in the furniture industry. The government should refrain from cost-intensive support programmes for the creative sector in this phase and rather assist in strengthening networking in the sector through a “creative cluster management”, improve monitoring of the sector and reform the education system for creative professions.
