While it might not be as high-profile or as highly populated as other areas in Great Britain, the country of Scotland is home to many innovative and thriving industries. With a unique cultural landscape, Scotland is home to several different business industries, many of which serve both native Scots and the millions of tourists who visit the country each year.
2023 saw Scotland’s GDP grow by 0.4% in January alone and is projected to grow by 0.5% for the whole year. This growth is fueled by its local business sector and several notable industries.
First, there is the country’s Food and Drink industry. Believe it or not, Scotland is a leader within Europe in food and drink production, with a £14.9 billion turnover in 2021 and a projected £30 billion turnover by 2020. All this money has led to over 122,000 people being employed by the Scottish food industry since 2021. 2023 has seen the country put more of a focus on sustainability and there are plans to make Scotland among the lowest carbon and most efficient food producers in the world by 2032.
Tourism is also a major industry in Scotland in 2023. Thanks to the country’s stunning outdoors, historic castles, tours of famous landmarks, and events, Scotland has become a big tourist hub. In 2022, the country hosted 3.2 million visitors and in 2023, tourists spent a total of £359 million during the first quarter. From all these, we can expect visitors from all over the world to continue flocking to Scotland.
To say that the gaming industry has been profitable to Scotland is a massive understatement. Over 13,300 full-time jobs are credited to the sector and these are only bound to grow as time goes on. The industry is worth over £1 billion to the Scottish economy and so, the government has been incentivized to be accommodating of it. According to a report by the Scottish Parliament, seven in 10 Scots have gambled in the last year. Many more gaming sites have been launched that aren’t just popular amongst Scots, but throughout the UK, too. And with this demand holding steady, this industry isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, live casinos are a relatively new area of online gaming and this part of the industry is only likely to get bigger and better. The sky really is the limit for the live casino industry (source: https://sportslens.com/uk/casino-sites/live/).
Scotland is also a giant in terms of oil and gas production in Europe, being the largest oil producer and second-largest gas producer on the continent. Thanks to Scotland’s proximity to the North Sea, there is an entire industry in cities like Aberdeen that produce and export oil across the world. And even as the country is pivoting to more renewable energy sources, hundreds of North Sea oil and gas licenses were issued in 2023.
When many of us think of Scotland, our minds go to the traditional Scottish kilt. In reality, Scotland’s fabric and textile industry is a thriving industry that serves both locals and exports throughout the world. The Scottish textile industry is currently eying a turnover of £1.1 billion by 2025, and £1.5 billion by 2030. This is driven by native Scots who purchase textiles directly or through regional designers, tourists who buy fabrics like kilts, and international designers who source tweed, wool, and other fabrics from Scotland.
Overall, it seems that 2023 was a great year for Scotland’s native industries and most seem poised to do even more in the future. From serving its own population to bringing in revenue from both exports and tourism, we can expect that these industries will continue to make headway well into the future.
