Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
How large is the UAE digital content creation market?
The UAE digital content creation market was valued at USD 735 million in 2023, per Grand View Research, and is forecast to reach USD 1,678.4 million by 2030, growing at 12.5 percent CAGR with services as the fastest-growing segment.
How many content creators operate in the UAE?
The UAE has issued over 15,000 content creator licenses from more than 90 nationalities, per Gulf News, alongside 10,000-plus media companies and 55,000-plus media professionals across the seven emirates.
Do I need UAE Media Council approval to run a blogging services business?
Yes. Approval from the UAE Media Council (UAEMC) is required for this activity. UAEMC oversees media content standards, licensing and compliance for content creation and web portal operations across the UAE.
How large is the UAE influencer marketing market?
The UAE influencer marketing market is valued at USD 173 million in 2025 and forecast to reach USD 442.54 million by 2034 at 11 percent CAGR, per ReportCubes, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi accounting for 70 percent of campaign activity.
What formats does activity 6312.98 cover?
Activity 6312.98 covers web portals and blogging services producing periodically updated content, including lifestyle blogs, industry news portals, corporate content platforms and branded editorial sites across text, video, image and audio formats.
How to Start a Blogging Services Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
The UAE now issues over 15,000 content creator licenses to media professionals from more than 90 nationalities. Creator HQ, launched by Dubai Media Council with USD 40.8 million in support funding, targets 10,000 influencers globally.
Behind the visible Instagram and TikTok feeds sits a growing ecosystem of blogs and web portals: lifestyle bloggers on WordPress and Substack, industry news sites covering UAE real estate and tourism, corporate content platforms for hospitality groups and consumer brands. Blogging services sit inside that content consumption economy.
Grand View Research¹ values the UAE digital content creation market at USD 735 million in 2023, forecast to reach USD 1,678.4 million by 2030 at 12.5% CAGR, with services as the most lucrative segment.
ReportCubes² values the UAE influencer marketing market at USD 173 million in 2025, forecast to reach USD 442.54 million by 2034 at 11% CAGR, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi accounting for nearly 70% of total campaign activity.
Gulf News³ reports the UAE hosts over 10,000 media companies and 55,000 media professionals, with 60% of Fortune 500 media companies choosing the UAE as a regional base.
Andava⁴ reports 99% of the UAE population is active on the internet, with video as the largest digital content segment at 37.02% revenue share in 2024.
A Digital Content Market Set to More Than Double by 2030. A Dubai-licensed blogging services operator enters a UAE digital content creation market valued at USD 735 million in 2023 and projected to reach USD 1,678.4 million by 2030 at 12.5 percent a year, alongside 15,000-plus UAE-licensed content creators from over 90 nationalities.
Sources: Grand View Research (2024), ReportCubes (2025), Gulf News (2026), Andava (2026)
Whether you are running a lifestyle blog on Dubai residency and dining, an industry news portal for UAE real estate or tourism, a corporate content platform for hospitality groups, or a media site with sponsored partnerships and affiliate monetisation, this activity covers the operation of web portals and blogging services providing periodically updated content to online audiences.
Who is this activity for?
- LIFESTYLE & CONSUMER BLOGGERS: You run a lifestyle blog, food and travel portal, or personal branding site producing periodic content on Dubai residency, dining, hospitality, fashion or family life. You monetise through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, brand partnerships and display advertising across your web portal and integrated social platforms.
- INDUSTRY & NEWS PORTAL OPERATORS: You run a specialised industry news portal or B2B media site covering UAE real estate, tourism, F&B, financial services, technology or health. You publish periodic editorial content, opinion pieces and industry analysis serving trade audiences with sponsored features, subscription models or programmatic advertising.
- CORPORATE CONTENT PLATFORM OPERATORS: You run a corporate content platform or branded editorial site for hospitality groups, consumer brands, retail chains or professional services firms. You produce owned-media content, thought leadership blogs, executive editorials and campaign-driven microsites as part of integrated content marketing programmes.
6312.98 - Blogging Services
Under this activity, you can run a web portal or blogging services business producing periodically updated content for online audiences. Service range covers lifestyle and consumer blogs, industry and news portals, corporate content platforms, branded editorial sites, opinion and analysis portals, media publications with periodic content updates, and web portals that operate as gateways to periodically refreshed digital content across text, video, image and audio formats.
This activity covers the operation of web portals and blogging services providing periodically updated content. Web portals that operate primarily as search engines maintaining databases of Internet addresses fall under a separate scope within the same class 6312.
In short: if you are running a blog, web portal or media site producing periodically updated content for online audiences, this is your activity.
Third-party approval: Approval from the UAE Media Council (UAEMC) is required for this activity.
Anti-money laundering compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
Footnotes
¹ Grand View Research, "The UAE Digital Content Creation Market Size & Outlook, 2030", September 2024.
² ReportCubes, "UAE Influencer Marketing Market: Size, Trends & Analysis", 2025.
³ Gulf News, "UAE Media Sector Becomes Global Hub for Content Creation, Influence and Creative Investment", 2026.
⁴ Andava, "100+ Digital Marketing Statistics in the UAE 2026", April 2026.
