Earlier this year, my wife and I experienced an interesting sequence of events that took us across very different worlds and left me reflecting on the growing importance of the creative economy.

In January, I attended the Jaipur Literature Festival for the first time since it began nearly nineteen years ago. For someone who has spent much of his professional life engaged in policy, governance, and business conversations, it was both refreshing and deeply moving.

At Jaipur, one could listen to music under the winter moon, attend a book reading, meet an author whose work one admires, or hear writers from across the world exchange ideas. Conversations spill out of formal sessions into courtyards and cafés. In many ways, it feels like the Davos of literature, bringing together global voices but in a far more intimate and creative setting.

Just days later, I was in Switzerland attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos — a forum I have had the privilege of attending for over thirty-five years. Davos is where global leaders gather to debate the future of economies, geopolitics, climate change, and technological change.

Soon after came discussions around artificial intelligence at the AI Summit in New Delhi, where policymakers, entrepreneurs, and technologists explored how emerging technologies will shape our societies.

And then, in a very different atmosphere, I attended Sacred Amritsar for the first time — a festival celebrating music, spirituality, and culture in one of India’s most historic cities. The Golden Temple alone receives between one and two lakh visitors every day. And the food in the lanes of Amritsar is divine as well.  Around the same time, the excitement surrounding the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup captured the imagination of millions of Indians, reminding us once again how sport, like culture, has the power to bring people together.

As February came to a close, I attended the annual gathering of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Mumbai, where discussions centred on the future of cities and urban development and why cities need to be more liveable, humane, and embracing.

Soon after, I was back in Delhi for the Raisina Dialogue, another major global forum that brings together policymakers, diplomats, and strategic thinkers from around the world to discuss geopolitics and international affairs.

Moving between these events — literature, global economics, technology, music, urban development, and geopolitics — one begins to see a powerful thread connecting them. Alongside traditional sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, and finance, another powerful force is quietly shaping the future: the creative and experience economy.

A New Dimension of Economic Growth

For decades, economic progress has largely been associated with factories, capital investment, and technological innovation. These sectors remain essential. But today, another dimension of growth is becoming increasingly important — the experience economy, where culture, tourism, sport, entertainment, books, and creativity intersect.

Festivals, concerts, sporting leagues, heritage experiences, and cultural gatherings are not merely leisure activities. They create employment, attract tourism, energise cities, and build cultural confidence. One only needs to look at the rapid transformation of Ayodhya and Varanasi, where spiritual tourism has significantly boosted local economies in a remarkably short period of time.

For young people especially, this shift opens up enormous possibilities. Not every young Indian needs to aspire only to careers in finance, consulting, or manufacturing. Many young people are drawn to music, art, storytelling, filmmaking, design, or sport. The creative economy allows these passions to become meaningful careers and enterprises.

Opportunities for Young India

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this sector is the scale of opportunity it offers the younger generation.

The creative economy has a powerful employment multiplier effect. A festival does not employ only artists; it creates work for event managers, lighting technicians, sound engineers, designers, hospitality workers, transport providers, and digital marketers. A sporting league generates opportunities for broadcasters, analysts, sports managers, and logistics providers. Cultural tourism sustains artisans, guides, chefs, and performers. Heritage conservation creates work for architects, historians, and designers.

For a country like India, with its young population and deep cultural traditions, the creative economy could become a major source of employment and entrepreneurship.

The Scale of the Sector

Our recently published PAFI book, The Policy Pivot, highlights this potential in an insightful chapter by Sanjoy Roy on the entertainment and arts industry.

Drawing on the EY–FICCI Media and Entertainment Report 2025, Roy notes that India’s creative sector has already crossed ₹2.5 trillion in size, with strong growth expected across digital media and live entertainment. He describes the rise of the experience economy, where travel, food, culture, and events combine to create new economic ecosystems.

Millions of Indians — from artisans and musicians to chefs, performers, and technicians — already depend on this ecosystem for their livelihoods.

Festivals and Cities

Events like the Jaipur Literature Festival demonstrate how culture can energise entire cities. Hotels fill up. Flights and trains are fully booked. Restaurants and cafés thrive. Local artisans benefit from visitors.

Cities around the world have recognised this multiplier effect. Cultural districts such as Broadway in New York and the West End in London contribute billions of dollars annually to their local economies.

India, with its extraordinary diversity of heritage, traditions, and artistic expression, has immense untapped potential in this space and can be a world leader.

Sport as a Creative Industry

Sport represents another powerful pillar of the creative economy.

The excitement surrounding the T20 World Cup once again showed how sport can unite millions across the country. Soon, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin again. The IPL brand itself has grown into one of the most valuable sports properties globally, second only to the NFL among league brands. Beyond cricket, the IPL drives broadcasting revenues, sponsorships, tourism, hospitality, and digital engagement.

Cities hosting matches see surges in hotel bookings, restaurant traffic, and transport demand. Thousands of professionals — from sports analysts to event managers — find employment through this ecosystem.

The Role of Corporates

For the creative economy to flourish, corporate India has an important role to play. Across the world, private sector investment has helped sustain theatres, museums, festivals, and cultural districts.

India too has seen inspiring examples. The Dalmia Bharat Group has supported heritage conservation initiatives in Delhi that have helped revitalise historic spaces such as the Red Fort.

Such initiatives remind us that societies need public spaces where people can gather, converse, and experience culture together — something increasingly important in an age dominated by digital interaction.

Why Policy Matters

The creative economy also requires thoughtful policy attention. Unlike traditional industries, it cuts across multiple ministries — culture, tourism, civil aviation, railways, urban development, education, and information.

Both the central and state governments, therefore, need to give this sector special strategic focus. Investing in cultural infrastructure, developing heritage districts, encouraging arts education, and supporting festivals could unlock enormous economic value while strengthening India’s cultural identity.

The Way Forward

India today stands at an important moment.

We need policies that nurture creativity, corporates that support cultural infrastructure, and cities that create public spaces for art, sport, and community engagement. If we get this right, the creative economy could become a powerful engine of jobs, tourism, innovation, and global cultural influence.

Economic growth is not only about factories and finance.

It is also about stories, music, sport, imagination, and shared experiences.

And if we nurture it with the right vision and support, the creative economy could well become one of the most exciting frontiers of opportunity for young India.

Ajay Khanna is the co-founder, Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI). The views expressed are personal