Screen Scotland has published the first comprehensive study of its kind evidencing the value of Scotland’s film and TV industries to the country’s employment and economic prosperity.
Commissioned by Screen Scotland and produced by Saffery Champness and Nordicity, the new independent report finds that the screen sector in Scotland contributed £567.6million to Scotland’s economy in 2019, providing 10,280 full time equivalent jobs.
The wide-ranging study analyses the economic contribution of the screen sector value chain - film and TV development and production, animation, VFX and post-production, film and TV distribution, TV broadcast, film exhibition.
It also extends into the supply chains that provide services at each stage of the content process, including facilities, equipment, transport, catering and accommodation.
The report values visitor expenditure on screen tourism activities at £64.9 million. It notes that the screen tourism expenditure results in £55 million GVA (Gross Value Added) to the Scottish economy, sustaining 1,220 full time jobs.
Beyond that direct supply chain, the study looks at where the screen sector stimulates economic activity elsewhere in the Scottish economy: screen tourism, the education and training sectors and infrastructure.
This is a welcome report from Screen Scotland which uses our own research and that of VisitBritain to estimate the economic value of screen tourism to Scotland for the first time.
Film and television productions are a shop window for the country’s amazing landscapes, heritage and culture. They provide inspiration for viewers to visit – we call those visitors ‘set-jetters’ – sometimes years after the production’s release. This long-term nature of screen tourism allows for the continual development of new visitor experiences and support for our regional economies.
The report acknowledges that Outlander has been the largest contributor to screen tourism. It continues to inspire legions of fans from Northern America and Europe to visit filming locations and explore attractions associated with the Jacobite Rising.
However, with Batman, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Fast and Furious and Avengers – some of the world’s biggest film franchises – all using Scotland as a location in recent years, there is huge potential for growth.
That is why we will continue to work with tourism businesses, film distributors and TV broadcasters to deliver marketing campaigns to help increase its economic benefits to our regions in a sustainable way.
Read the full Screen Scotland announcement.
The report covers 2019, the year before the onset of COVID-19 and the first full year following the establishment of Screen Scotland in late 2018. A follow up study of 2021, the year in which the current boom in Scotland-based production started in earnest, is in progress and will be published in early 2023.