Date :
12/11/2014
The number of people employed by Scotland’s tourism industry has increased by 16.4% in a year according to the Scottish Government.
In 2013 the key economic sector provided jobs for 211,200 people up from 181,500 in 2012.
Within the sector the largest rises in the number of jobs are in the restaurant and mobile food services, which has risen by 19,500 and hotels and similar accommodation which is up by 3,500.
Recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed overseas tourist visits to Scotland in 2013/14 totalled nearly 2.6million, up from about 2.2million the year before.
Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said:
“Tourism plays a vital role in promoting the Scottish brand and it is important that we continue to build on our success in this area.
“We are committed to supporting the tourism industry; we are working with the Scottish Tourism Alliance to deliver ‘Tourism Scotland 2020.’ This strategy seeks to make Scotland a destination of first choice for a high quality, value for money, and memorable customer experience, delivered by skilled and passionate people.
“The Scottish Government is supporting, through Skills Development Scotland a Tourism Skills Investment Plan. This plan will improve management, leadership and enterprise in the sector, ensuring staff have the skills to deliver a high quality visitor experience, raise the attractiveness of the sector and provide high quality training.
“We are also supporting business tourism through our Conference Bid fund, which has helped attract 60 conferences to Scotland over the next 7 years. This, together with our themed years, such as Homecoming 2014, which included the spectacular Bannockburn Live event, brings people to Scotland during the shoulder months and showcases the country as a place to visit again and again.”
Keep up to date with all the latest tourism information on the Tourism Intelligence Scotland news and events section.