FROM CULTURAL REACH TO ECONOMIC VALUE:
ASIA PACIFIC’S CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is one of Asia’s leading film festivals, bringing together industry leaders and creative talent from across the region. Netflix and Economist Enterprise hosted a roundtable at BIFF with prominent academics, industry experts and policymakers to explore the creative economy across Asia-Pacific (APAC). The region produces some of the world's most influential films, music, games and animation, but its creative economies are developing from different starting points. The opportunity now is to build on these varied strengths and turn more of APAC’s cultural reach into lasting economic value.
TAKING CENTRE STAGE: APAC’S GROWING CREATIVE POWER
Once seen largely through a cultural lens, the creative economy is increasingly an economic asset. Globally, creative industries generate US$2.3trn in economic value—around 3% of GDP—and support nearly 50m jobs, equivalent to 1.4% of the global workforce.1,2,3
Even these figures almost certainly understate the industry’s true economic footprint. Creative industries can draw tourists, support local businesses, spur innovation and extend a country’s cultural influence in ways that conventional measures of GDP, employment and trade do not fully capture.4
APAC makes this wider influence easy to see. South Korea’s K-pop and screen content, Japanese anime and Indian cinema command audiences far beyond their home markets. And their economic effects can travel just as far.
“Set-jetting”—a rise in tourism to a destination after it features on screen—is one example. After Thailand appeared in HBO’s “The White Lotus”, Expedia recorded rises of between 70% and almost 400% in searches for trips to Koh Samui following the season premiere.5 Indian cinema has similarly helped to promote tourism by putting destinations at home and abroad in front of vast audiences.6
Creative industries are making significant contributions to economies across APAC. Recent national estimates put their contribution at 4.6% of gross value added in Thailand and 7.4% of GDP in Indonesia, although definitions vary across countries.7,8
These differences in measurement make direct comparisons difficult. Using a consistent, narrower definition, IMPLAN data shows that the direct contribution of selected creative industries ranges from 0.7% of GDP in India to 2.4% in South Korea in 2020.9 The variation reflects different stages of development, from mature, globally recognised creative industries to markets still building their talent, production capacity and routes to audiences.
The economic footprint of creativity across APAC
Economic contribution of the creative industries (% of total GDP)
Source: IMPLAN
Note: Covers arts, entertainment and recreation; publishing; and audiovisual and broadcasting activities. Figures exclude indirect and induced contributions and are not directly comparable with national estimates using broader industry definitions.The key, then, is to understand what enables creative economies at different stages of development to turn their distinctive strengths into sustained economic value.
Japan: production depth and interconnected intellectual property
Japan has deep capabilities in film, animation, publishing and gaming, producing around 8.4 national feature films annually per million working-age people.10 These industries feed one another. Japan’s long-standing “media mix” model builds audiences and sales across formats rather than relying on a single product. Pokémon shows the model at work: its characters and stories have spread across video games, animation, trading cards, film and merchandise.11
South Korea: strong domestic demand with global reach
South Korea has built strengths in screen content, music and digital creative industries. Its international reach rests partly on strong demand at home. Korean content accounts for 80% of video-on-demand viewing in the country.12 Sustained investment in content, talent and production capabilities has helped to build on this domestic strength and extend the industry's international reach. Korean film and television exports reached KRW1.8trn in 2024 (~US$1.3bn), nearly double their 2019 level.13
Japan and South Korea do not offer rival templates. They show that global creative success can be achieved from different foundations. Japan draws strength from a deep, interconnected set of industries, whereas South Korea combines strong domestic demand, sustained investment in creative capabilities and growing international reach. South Korea's policy environment has also evolved, with the easing of film import and screening restrictions alongside targeted incentives, institutional support and efforts to strengthen IP commercialisation.14
For other APAC economies, the lesson is to build on existing strengths and create an enabling environment in which creators and creative businesses can invest, produce and grow sustainably.
What sits behind creative success?
While there is no single model for creative success, some foundations are essential to helping creative industries grow. Predictable policies, investment incentives, talent development and routes to audiences all play a role. The challenge is to ensure that these measures work together and respond to local market needs.
The right mix will vary by industry and country. Film, for example, may depend heavily on production finance, skilled crews and studios, whereas gaming may rely more on technical skills, digital infrastructure, intellectual property (IP) protection and risk capital.
Governments across APAC are using different tools to strengthen the foundations for creative industries. Australia uses production incentives, including a 30% Location Offset for qualifying large-budget film and television production.15 South Korea’s Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) and Korean Film Council (KOFIC) support the development of screen-production talent.16 Other markets have similarly established dedicated institutions tailored to their own creative industries. Taiwan’s Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) helps domestic content businesses to scale up, attract investment and build international connections, while Thailand’s Creative Economy Agency co-ordinates its wider creative-economy agenda.17
LOCAL STORIES, GLOBAL IMPACT: THE NETFLIX PERSPECTIVE
Asia-Pacific’s creative industries are reaching audiences far beyond their home markets. For Netflix, the opportunity begins with supporting local creators and helping culturally distinctive stories travel globally. The company has worked with over 350 production companies in the region, with productions filmed in more than 650 cities and towns.
“Titles from Asia-Pacific now make up more than half of our weekly Global Top 10 lists for non-English titles, up from around 30% in 2021,” says Andrew Ure, vice president of global affairs, APAC, Netflix.
Turning this global reach into sustained economic value requires investment beyond individual productions. Talent development is critical: production incentives and other measures to attract investment are most effective when accompanied by efforts to develop local talent and build career pathways. Over the past decade, Netflix’s skills development initiatives have reached more than 18,000 people across APAC.
“I get to learn new perspectives—not just about scriptwriting and directing, but about the industry as well: how do you market your product? How do you pitch?” says Bona Palma, Director and Filmmaker, Cerita Anak Nusantara (Indonesia), and an alumnus of the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity.
The benefits extend beyond the screen. Screen production supports jobs and businesses across production, technology and related services, while successful content can stimulate tourism, cultural exchange and international interest in local destinations and stories.
Looking ahead, Netflix sees opportunities to strengthen connections between APAC’s creative ecosystems. Co-productions, cross-border production, knowledge exchange and wider distribution can help local industries reach larger markets. Ure emphasises the importance of predictable policies: “Growth follows certainty.” Clear, stable policy frameworks, he argues, are critical to attracting long-term investment, and can help turn individual creative successes into sustained industry growth.
Start of carousel.
01
Build around comparative advantage. Focus policy and investment where cultural assets, industry capabilities and market opportunities already align.
02
Create a predictable environment for production. Provide clear, stable policy and regulatory frameworks that give creators, producers and investors confidence to plan and invest for the long term. Assess the likely impact of new policy measures against alternative approaches that incentivise investment and growth.
03
Incentivise sustained investment. Use production incentives, co-production frameworks and skills partnerships to attract investment, while building local talent and production capacity.
04
Strengthen routes to audiences and scale. Help creators and firms access finance and commercialise IP to reach domestic and international audiences through cinemas, broadcasters, streaming platforms and distribution networks, and to grow beyond individual projects.
05
Keep pace with technological change. Adapt skills, infrastructure and IP frameworks as AI, streaming and new production technologies reshape how content is created, distributed and monetised.
06
Measure the impact of the creative economy. Track value added, trade and employment across creative industries, including freelance and informal work, to identify gaps and target policy and investment more effectively.
End of carousel.
The discussion at BIFF underscored that there is no single policy playbook for the region. APAC has already shown that there is more than one route to global creative success. Its next challenge is to build ecosystems that allow that success to be scaled up and sustained. Do that consistently, and the region can turn more of its cultural reach into lasting economic value.
References
1 UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Creative Economy Outlook 2024. Available from: https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditctsce2024d2_en.pdf.
2 UNESCO, Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity: Addressing Culture as a Global Public Good, 2022. Available from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380474.
3 UNESCO, Cultural and Creative Industries in the Face of COVID-19, 2021. Available from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377863.
4 OECD, Maximising Synergies between Tourism and Cultural and Creative Sectors, 2022. Available from: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2022/09/maximising-synergies-between-tourism-and-cultural-and-creative-sectors_dd784e39/f597b0f0-en.pdf.
5 CNBC, Social media chatter about Thailand pops 60% following ‘White Lotus’ premiere, 2025. Available from: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/07/where-is-white-lotus-filmed-koh-samui-and-searches-and-prices-are-up.html.
6 Suryawanshi A, Ragde R,, From Frames to Footfall: Decoding Economic Implications of Bollywood Film Tourism, 2024, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. Available from: https://johat.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5-3.pdf.
7 Creative Economy Agency (2026). Available from: https://www.cea.or.th/en/news-updates/Creativity-as-Capital-en.
8 Antara (2026). Available from: https://en.antaranews.com/news/437201/indonesia-links-creative-economy-to-global-south-growth-job-creation.
9 Based on IMPLAN data (2020).
10 Based on WIPO data. Available from: https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/indicators/722.
11 Kondo H. Miyata K, et al, Development of the Nintendo Media Mix Strategy: Globalizing Pikachu through Emergent and Deliberate Strategies, 2017. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319349166_Development_of_the_Nintendo_Media_Mix_Strategy_Globalizing_Pikachu_through_Emergent_and_Deliberate_Strategies.
12 Frontier Economics, Korea’s policy environment has incentivised a booming content industry. Available from: https://www.mpa-apac.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Infographic.pdf.
13 Oxford Economics, The Economic Contribution of the audiovisual industry in South Korea, 2026. Available from: https://www.mpa-apac.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260407-MPA-Korea_Digital-Eng.pdf.
14 Frontier Economics, Policy + The Rise of K-Content, 2024. Available from: https://www.mpa-apac.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Frontier-Economics-Policy-and-K-Content_Digital_ENG.pdf.
15 Australian Government, Australian Screen Production Incentive. Available from: https://www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/screen/australian-screen-production-incentive.
16 Frontier Economics, Korea’s policy environment has incentivised a booming content industry. Available from: https://www.mpa-apac.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Infographic.pdf.
17 Creative Economy Agency (CEA), Strategic Plan 2023-2027. Available from: https://www.cea.or.th/backendservice/3dflipbook?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cea.or.th%2Fstorage%2Fapp%2Fmedia%2FITA_2566%2Fo4_CEA_Strategic_Plan_2566_2570_Apr2023.pdf.