2. Summary of tourism employment
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Tourism employment in Scotland | 229,000 | 189,000 | 209,000 | 229,000 | 245,000 | 239,000 |
Overview
- The people who work in tourism in Scotland are essential for creating a world-class tourism experience. The sector is an important part of the Scottish economy, supporting business activities and employment opportunities across Scotland.
- Data on tourism employment in Scotland is available via the Scottish Government Growth Sector Statistics.
- The statistics are based on the sustainable tourism growth sector definition.
- The latest data was released by the Scottish Government in December 2025.
1. Key statistics
239,000
people employed in the tourism sector in Scotland in 2024
40,000
people employed in the tourism sector in Edinburgh in 2024
35,000
people employed in the tourism sector in Glasgow in 2024
Source: Scottish Growth Sector Statistics, December 2025
3. Summary of key indicators
| Indicator for Scotland | Data | Percentage change from previous year | Performance | Latest data available |
| Tourism employment | 239,000 | -2.4% | Decreasing | 2024 |
| Number of tourism businesses | 16,325 | 1.7% | Increasing | 2025 |
| Tourism turnover | £10,798,000,000 | 14.6% | Increasing | 2023 |
| Total tourism gross value added | £4,945,000,000 | 3.5% | Increasing | 2023 |
Tourism employment accounts for 9.1% of total employment in Scotland in 2024.
The number of tourism businesses accounts for 9.3% of total businesses in Scotland in 2025.
4. Definitions
Tourism is one of the Scottish Government’s six Growth Sectors. The tourism growth sector is defined by the activity of 14 Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes. These make up the sustainable tourism sector as defined by Scottish Government.
|
SIC code |
Activity |
|
SIC 55.1 |
Hotels and similar accommodation |
|
SIC 55.2 |
Holiday and other short-stay accommodation |
|
SIC 55.3 |
Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks |
|
SIC 56.1 |
Restaurants and mobile food service activities |
|
SIC 56.3 |
Beverage serving activities |
|
SIC 79.12 |
Tour operator activities |
|
SIC 79.9 |
Other reservation service and related activities |
|
SIC 91.02 |
Museum activities |
|
SIC 91.03 |
Operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions |
|
SIC 91.04 |
Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserve activities |
|
SIC 93.11 |
Operation of sports facilities |
|
SIC 93.199 |
Other sports activities (not including activities of racehorse owners) |
|
SIC 93.21 |
Activities of amusement parks and theme parks |
|
SIC 93.29 |
Other amusement and recreation activities |
5. The economic contribution of the sector
More information on defining tourism and the wider visitor economy is available within a report commissioned by the Tourism Leadership Group in 2018.
Read the full report on gov.scotView more insights on the visitor economy. You can explore more graphs and visualisations on the Scottish Tourism Observatory.
Browse visitor economy insights on tourismobservatory.scot