The number of people employed by Scotland’s tourism industry has rocketed by 16.4% in a year, official figures show.
According to the Scottish Government, the key economic sector provided jobs for 211,200 people last year. This was up from 181,500 in 2012.
A raft of high-profile events during 2014, including the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Ryder Cup golf tournament at Gleneagles are likely to see the figure soar again.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics earlier this month showed overseas tourist visits to Scotland in 2013/14 totalled nearly 2.6million, up from about 2.2million the year before.
The largest rises in tourism-related jobs last year were seen at restaurants, mobile food businesses and hotels, which together took on 23,000 new workers.
Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Our strong tourism sector provides over 210,000 jobs and is of significant value to the Scottish economy, making up around 5% of our GDP (gross domestic product).
“Tourism plays a vital role in promoting the Scottish brand and it is important that we continue to build on our success in this area.”
