The Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Tourism is one of Scotland’s most important industries. Scotland has great tourist attractions and the industry has potential for growth in the future. Tourism is worth over £4 billion each year to the Scottish economy.

• About eight per cent of all Scottish jobs are in tourism-related industries. (191,400)
• The restaurant sector has the most jobs.
• The majority of employers have less than ten people.

Areas Included

The Hospitality and Tourism sector covers 14 industries. These include the provision of food, drink and accommodation as well as some more specialist services.

• Contract food service providers
• Events
• Gambling
• Holiday Parks
• Hospitality Services
• Hostels
• Hotels
• Membership clubs
• Pubs, bars and nightclubs
• Restaurants
• Self catering accommodation
• Tourist Services
• Travel Services
• Visitor attractions

There are jobs at all levels. The majority of jobs are in practical and unskilled work such as food service and housekeeping.

Over a fifth of all jobs are in personal services. These include jobs such as croupier and travel agent.

For a full list of jobs in hospitality and tourism see below.

What’s it like to work in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

• This industry will not appeal to anyone looking for a job Monday to Friday: nine to five.
• Very few people who work in this industry have regular hours, and many work shifts.
• Well over half the jobs in the industry are part-time.
• There are slightly more female than male employees (59%).
• Labour turnover is high – 45 per cent compared to 20 per cent in other sectors.
• The average weekly full time wage is lower than the Scottish average.
• The average age of a worker is 31 - younger than the average of 36 for Scotland as a whole.
• Job prospects for school leavers in the hospitality and tourism industry are good. Just over a quarter of employers have recruited a school leaver in the last two to three years.

Future Trends

• In the next ten years there will be 83,000 job openings.
• The industry is often affected by events out with its own control. (9/11 terrorist attack)
• The tourism industry will face strong competition in recruiting staff in Scotland.

Find out more about where the jobs are in your area.

Useful Information

People 1st is the Sector Skills Council Hospitality and Tourism industry.

Springboard UK Ltd promotes careers in hospitality, leisure, tourism and travel and its Careerscope online contains information on careers in the sector.

Occupations