In a groundbreaking move to revolutionise global tourism marketing, the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Visit Dubai) has partnered with leading travel content agency Beautiful Destinations to launch the Beautiful Destinations Academy, Powered by Dubai—the world’s first dedicated travel content creator college.
This first-of-its-kind initiative is designed to meet the growing global demand for high-quality, social-first travel content and aims to set new industry standards for digital storytelling. As social media increasingly drives travel decisions—76% of which are now influenced by digital content—the academy seeks to bridge the gap between content demand and skilled talent, with only 24% of travel brands currently equipped with in-house content teams.
Issam Kazim, CEO of Visit Dubai, highlighted the initiative as a key step in aligning with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), reinforcing Dubai’s ambition to be the world’s best city to visit, live, and work in. “This partnership with Beautiful Destinations supports our vision to nurture creative talent, strengthen our global tourism appeal, and lead the evolution of social commerce in travel,” said Kazim.
Beautiful Destinations Founder and CEO Jeremy Jauncey called Dubai “a future-focussed, likeminded partner” and emphasized the academy’s role in professionalising travel content creation, a sector expected to reach nearly half-a-trillion dollars globally by 2027.
The academy will offer a structured curriculum covering technical skills, cinematography, post-production, AI tools, marketing strategy, and destination branding. Students will gain hands-on mentorship from global industry leaders and graduate with a certificate of participation from the Dubai College of Tourism.
This innovative programme not only supports Dubai’s positioning as a global hub for the creator economy but also pioneers the formal education of travel content creators, setting a new global benchmark for excellence in digital tourism marketing.
