Tourism
Make sure visitors to Scotland have a fantastic experience and spread the word when they go back home.
What impact could you make?
Scotland has a thriving tourism industry. It draws in people from all over the world. Working in tourism gets you actively involved in all kinds of different roles.NaomiTourist Guide, Mercat Tours
Tourism at a glance
There are many cool tourism roles in high demand. The industry has the potential to improve relationships between nations. It also creates entertainment opportunities and experiences for tourists.
The work you do could lead to improved happiness, wellbeing and education.
Employment
In 2023, there were around 175,900 people employed in the tourism industry in Scotland.
Job availability
Between 2023 to 2026, it's expected there will be 39,300 people needed to fill job openings in Scotland.
Job diversity
As of October 2023, 1,087 Modern Apprentices across Scotland training in tourism.
Choose an adventurous career
We’ve pulled out some of the most popular tourism job profiles for you to explore.
Things you may not know about tourism
In 2023, almost 4 million visits were made to Scotland by international visitors. And tourists spent more than £3.5 billion!
Source: Visit Scotland
UK residents made 12.6 million overnight trips to Scotland in 2023.
Source: Visit Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland was the country's most popular visitor attraction in 2022, racking up almost 2 million visitors.
Source: STV news
What subjects you could take in school
We've pulled together some examples of subjects and Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) that could be useful for getting into a tourism career.
English
computing
maths
business
history
modern studies
Leaders in tourism
Discover some of the organisations within tourism and how they’re making an impact on the industry.
Visit Scotland
Visit Scotland can point you in the direction of things to do and provides travel updates across Scotland.
Go to Visit Scotland
Scottish Tourism Alliance
The Scottish Tourism Alliance represents more than 250 organisations within the Scottish tourism industry.
Visit Scottish Tourism Alliance
Springboard UK
Springboard offer employability training programmes, education schemes and careers advice.
Visit Springboard UK
Association of Visitor Attractions (ASVA)
The Association of Visitor Attractions (ASVA) represents more than 240 organisations across Scotland's visitor attractions Sector.
Visit Association of Visitor Attractions