As Dundee gets over the shock of losing out to Hull in being the next ‘City of Culture’, a new report from consultants SQW suggests that around 700 local tourism jobs could be created in the city and Tayside over the next four years. It believes the outlook for the sector is “very positive”, especially with the arrival of the V&A at Dundee, the regeneration of the waterfront and new hotel and leisure developments. It argues that the UK and international economies are improving, which should mean that the number of visitors to Dundee, and the wider City Region, should increase.
V&A Dundee
Commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and other public sector partners, the Dundee City Region Tourism Labour Market Study reveals that the industry was worth more than £380m in 2011. Almost 20,000 people work in tourism in the area, which covers three council areas – Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross – and the parliamentary constituency of North East Fife.
The authors point out that forecasting tourism growth is “challenging and expectations often exceed the reality. Despite previous strategies and targets aspiring to significant growth, the level of staying tourism remains broadly where it was in 2005, so it is sensible to be cautious.
“A working assumption for potential tourism employment to 2017 would be a net increase in tourism-related jobs of around 700, of which around a third (200-300) would be directly associated with visitors to the V&A at Dundee. These jobs will primarily be in food and drink (bars and restaurants), accommodation (hotels) and in retail.”
Welcoming the report, Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, acknowledged that the estimates of growth were “on the conservative side” but insisted that i was “still good news for the city and the wider area. Tourism is a vital part of our economy and the opportunities for growth and jobs in the sector is one that we must all work hard now to grasp. Job opportunities are there for almost every conceivable role in the sector, but in particular there will be a need for people to take up skilled jobs like chefs.”
Mick McHugh, Location Director for Dundee for Scottish Enterprise, added that the tourism sector was of “vital importance to the Scottish economy, worth over £4bn in direct expenditure from overnight visitors in 2012 and providing employment to hundreds of thousands of people across our cities and regions. The positive outlook for Dundee’s tourism industry as outlined in this report is welcome news for the region which is already showing a strong growth in visitor numbers and has much to offer in the coming years with the exciting waterfront regeneration, the arrival of the V&A as well as opportunities arising from Scotland’s global profile in hosting the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games.”
According to the report tourism in Dundee City Region has grown sharply over the last couple of years, with around 1.9 million staying visitors in 2011, of which 1.7 million were from the UK. Tourism-related businesses contributed £316m or six per cent of the total Gross Value Added (GVA) to the area’s economy in 2010. A figure which has grown steadily over the past five years.