Skills and Training Vital to Provide Springboard for Scotland's Growing Tourism Sector

Published

8th March 2013

A new plan to help attract more people to work in Scotland's tourism sector and develop further skills has been launched by Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing.

In 2014, Scotland will host the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup so getting new people into the tourism sector and developing good leaders are industry priorities.

At the signature conference for Scottish Tourism Week the Minister launched a new Skills Investment Plan which supports the National Tourism Strategy (Tourism 2020, The Future of Our Industry, In Our Hands).

The plan has been developed on behalf of the Scottish Government by Skills Development Scotland, working with industry partners Scottish Tourism Alliance and the Tourism Skills Group.

Launching the Skills Investment Plan for Scotland's Tourism Sector, Mr Ewing said: 'Tourism is one of the leading growth sectors of the Scottish economy, currently employing around 185,900 people across more than 13,000 businesses. With record investment, the sector has set ambitious growth targets and aims to increase annual visitor spend of between £5.5 billion and £6.5 billion by 2020, growth in the region of £1 billion. The Skills Investment Plan provides a cornerstone for enhancing skills within the sector and it is a wonderful example of successful public and private sector collaboration, with all partners working together.

A full copy of the Skills Investment Plan for the Tourism Sector can be downloaded here.

Find out more about Skills Development Scotland.

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