Capital festivals generate £313m for Scots economy

EDINBURGH’S year-round festivals generate £313million for the Scottish economy, according to a major report on the overall contribution made by the cultural events.

The figure for 2015 represents an increase of 24 per cent on the total recorded five years earlier, with the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors the main beneficiaries.

The study also found the festivals attract combined audiences of more than 4.5million – putting them on a par with the Fifa World Cup – and that they support more than 6,000 Scottish jobs.

The analysis is contained in an independent impact study which was commissioned by Festivals Edinburgh.

Research firm BOP Consulting analysed the overall impact of Edinburgh’s 12 festivals and found they, are estimated to have generated £279.6million in the city over 2015, an increase of 19 per cent on the 2010 study.

They were worth £312.6million to the economy as a whole last year, up by a quarter from the £252million recorded in 2010.

The festivals also supported 5,660 new fulltime equivalent jobs in Edinburgh last year, and 6,021 in Scotland, the latter figure representing an increase on the 4,700 recorded five years earlier.

Festivals Edinburgh director Julia Amour said: ‘We’ve passed the 4.5million mark for attendances, which reminds us what an extraordinary world-scale event we have in the capital with our festivals.’