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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Eve Livingston

Scottish screen sector boom brings questions over jobs and overtourism

Claudia Winkleman with two cloaked figures in front of a castle
The Traitors has had added £21.8m to the Scottish economy since 2022, according to the BBC. Photograph: BBC/PA

Scotland’s striking Ardross Castle, the oldest star of The Celebrity Traitors, which kicks off on Thursday night, is just one of the stops on the Scottish tourist board’s “screen tourism” trail. From Outlander and The Odyssey filming in the Highlands and islands, to Glasgow city centre standing in for New York and Gotham City in the latest instalments of Indiana Jones and Batman respectively, film and TV is increasingly big business in Scotland.

The country’s screen sector, growing year on year, is projected to be worth £1bn to the economy by 2030. But while some have celebrated the upsides of a booming production sector, others highlight a lack of opportunities for Scottish talent and the challenges of excessive tourism in areas featured on screen.

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