If Saudi Arabia addresses key industry challenges, the publishing, media, and digital content industries could generate $3.6 billion and create 9,800 additional jobs by 2017, a new study from Tahseen Consulting said.
The study, released Saturday, was conducted to support the Saudi Publishers Association’s recent successful bid to gain full membership in the International Publishers Association.
Saudi Arabia is the fourth country in the Arab World to achieve full membership in this prestigious international organization which represents publishers’ interests globally. The report comes as Saudi publishers are preparing to attend the 34th Sharjah International Book Fair starting on Nov. 4.
“Since 1990, Saudi Arabia’s publishing industry has changed dramatically. In the early to mid -Nineties, the industry was dominated by small, fragmented publishers and specialized retailers,” said Wes Schwalje, Chief Operating Officer of Tahseen Consulting and author of the study.
“By the mid-Nineties, we began to observe the emergence of integrated companies specialized in publishing and retail. There was a large shift from small bookshops to major super-stores with national coverage and the initial emergence of online retail channels that cater to emerging preferences for e-books and digital content.
Today, we are witnessing the further growth of large, integrated companies with publishing and distribution capabilities, increased consumption of digital content due to high levels of mobile device penetration, and the embrace of e-commerce by Saudi publishers and consumers.”
Tahseen Consulting’s study shows that the publishing, media, and digital content industries will need to address a number of challenges to unlock growth. While the Saudi publishing industry currently contributes less than 1% of GDP, international evidence suggests that cultural industries can contribute up to 2-3% of GDP.
If the publishing media, and digital content industries can reach this international benchmark, the cultural industries in Saudi Arabia could contribute significantly to economic diversification and employment generation.
The study identifies the need for a government-led national publishing strategy that prioritizes needs and challenges, identifies strategies for advancing the industry, assigns responsibilities, defines performance metrics, and establishes an implementation timeline.
