Twofour54, Abu Dhabi's media free-zone, is looking to attract more productions, businesses and rewarding partnerships in the media sector in recognition of the sector's value in boosting the national economy and tourism, according to a top official. 

"Based on our experience in hosting international productions in the capital, we have witnessed its economic impact on tourism as hotels occupancy rates increased, and spending on parks, restaurants, and other tourism facilities have also grown," said Maryam Al Mheiri, Acting CEO of twofour54, on the occasion of the Abu Dhabi Government's Golden Jubilee. 

twofour54 has so far licensed more than 550 Arabic and international media and entertainment companies, including Sky News Arabia, Image Nation, Ubisoft, CNN, Fox, Flash Entertainment, M&C Saatchi, and Flat6labs, in addition to a pool of 600 bilingual talented freelancers. 

The media zone has created more than 3,500 jobs in the media sector, helped create nearly 9,000 hours of TV content, and trained more than 6,800 people through its professional media training courses. 

twofour54 aims to attract more Arab and international producers to film in Abu Dhabi, as well as create more job and training opportunities for Emirati youth, in addition to investing in state-of-art facilities that offer media professionals the latest technologies available worldwide. 

Source: WAM