Tourism is a vital industry to Scotland with Government data showing that the tourism sector contributes in the region of £4.4 billion GVA and employs over 200,000 people in around 20,000 tourism-related businesses across the country.

A recent Deloitte & Oxford economic report on the 'visitor economy' proposed that, in Scotland, the sector’s total wider contribution accounts for around £11 billion GDP (10.4 percent of the country’s economy and 10 percent of the workforce).

The tourism sector has proved resilient, despite current economic challenges and significant international competition. The industry is playing a key role in supporting the economic recovery, especially in maintaining levels of employment and attracting over £3 billion spend by tourists from the rest of the UK and overseas.

Assets

Scotland's distinctive tourism assets - such as the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the National Parks and iconic destinations like St Andrews and Perthshire - provide a strong basis for real international competitiveness and growth. 

The superb natural environment supports a wide range of sporting activities including golf and mountain biking and sustains high quality Scottish food produce.

The tourism sector has growth potential driven by economic recovery in our main and emerging markets with the global tourism market forecasting growth levels of around 4 percent per annum in real terms, with most of this being driven by the economies in Asia.

Scotland’s tourism markets are predominantly in the more mature economies of western Europe and North America which are beginning to recover growth, though at a lower rate.

Key role

Tourism has a key role to play in relation to the regional equity agenda, being the mainstay of many rural economies across Scotland, supporting the sustainability of many rural services and facilities.

There are strong links to other sectors, including food and drink, textiles and enabling technologies. Given the sector's scale and reach, tourism has an important contribution to make to Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government objectives around a wider range of issues, such as leadership, innovation, investment and internationalisation.

To fulfil its potential, Scotland requires a critical mass of high quality and well performing destinations and tourism products to offer the visitor. This is at the heart of our tourism effort with the focus on key destinations and products which are mutually supportive and together represent the foundation for future tourism success.