International strategy: annual report 2024 to 2025

Economy, trade and investment

Scotland’s International Strategy set out actions and aims for economy, trade and investment in areas including:

• export growth
• inward investment
• capital investment
• tourism
• major events

Boosting economic growth is central to achieving the Scottish Government’s priorities: it creates good jobs, supports investment into green industries of the future helping to meet our ambitious climate change targets, tackles poverty and sustains high-quality public services. In 2024-25, we have made solid progress towards our strategic ambition of accelerating fair, green, economic growth, by prioritising our resources on a series of actions that deliver the most impact. Our annual report on the National Strategy for Economic Transformation⁵ was published in September 2025.⁶ The report provides details on the year’s delivery, measured against our economic strategy’s objectives.

Notably, we published our Green Industrial Strategy⁷ (GIS) in September 2024 which sets out the economic sectors and industries which we consider to have the greatest strengths and potential opportunities to help Scotland realise the economic benefits of the global transition to net zero. More actions supporting the green transition and move to net zero are described in the chapter on climate change, biodiversity and renewable energy.

Through working with the enterprise agencies, we have supported trade and investment across Scotland. Scottish Enterprise report over 15,000 planned Real Living Wage jobs secured in 2024-25, the second highest annual outturn ever recorded. In addition, over £2.4 billion was generated in planned international export sales, the highest ever, alongside facilitating over £1.16 billion in planned capital investment, the second highest on record.⁸

We delivered trade and investment focused ministerial visits which built relationships in-market with the parent companies of our key Scottish based businesses and promote Scottish capability. We also appointed two additional Trade and Investment Envoys, helping to open doors for our businesses and identify strategic opportunities that can support our export, capital investment and FDI efforts in our priority countries and sectors.

Key highlights from this section include:

• Scotland secured 135 FDI projects, maintaining its position as the UK’s top FDI destination outside London for the 10th consecutive year
• ministerial visits and trade missions supported £1.89 billion in planned capital investment, £2.15 billion in international sales, and over 16,700 jobs created or safeguarded
• VisitScotland’s marketing campaigns delivered a £73.5 million net economic impact
• enhancements to Scotland’s connectivity with North America, including with JetBlue and WestJet

Export growth

In 2024-25 we worked with the UK Government to remove priority trade barriers to the EU for legal services and food and drink. We also collaborated with the British Standards Institution (BSI) on the introduction of a new voluntary whisky standard which empowers distillers in Scotland to trade internationally.

We published an Export Plan aimed at realising Scotland’s hydrogen potential as a leading global exporter of renewable hydrogen, and a Renewables Exports Action Plan, detailing how Scotland is supporting the growth of renewable energy exports by strengthening data, supply chains, international market engagement and promoting Scotland’s renewables supply chain globally.

We also published Scottish Government commissioned research committing to practical actions we can take to support women-led businesses to export more, which could contribute to increasing total turnover by up to £10.3 billion over two years.

Our most recent annual report on Scotland’s Vision for Trade⁹ was published in October 2024,¹⁰ detailing how the Vision has been put into practice and meets the needs of people and businesses in our policy development and trade decisions.

Highlights under the key themes of the Vision include:

• engaging businesses on their views on trade, including through the Scottish Services Trade Forum
• using regulations, standards and the WTO to improve the trading environment for business e.g. the whisky standard
• collaborating to resolve market access barriers affecting businesses in Scotland e.g. oats, legal services
• raising the Scottish Government’s profile on trade through engaging internationally on the differential impacts of trade
• working with the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy to get evidence on Scottish jobs directly or indirectly linked to exporting activity
• collaborating with stakeholders (including OECD) to develop a research project on how to address the gender export gap in Scotland
• supporting the UK Government’s decision to leave the Energy Charter Treaty and highlighted coherence between trade and climate at COP28
• making human rights a central consideration in our approach to trade

International Strategy Case Study 1

International Food Summit

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Islands and Land Reform successfully delivered her Programme for Government commitment to ‘host an international food summit’ and contributed towards wider delivery of the commitment ‘to support the promotion of Scotland’s food and drink at home and to wider UK and international markets and audiences.’ The summit took place 18-20 June 2024 in Edinburgh with the theme ‘Resilient food systems: international problems, local solutions’.

It opened with a welcome dinner at Edinburgh Castle hosted by the Deputy First Minister and attended by the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity. The main event was a full-day conference on 19 June led by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and Islands. Delegates were then invited to the Royal Highland Show on 20 June for a morning reception hosted by the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity. With about 35 invited guests, the summit attracted some high-profile attendees including the Director for Agriculture and Commodities at the World Trade Organisation; the Chief Executive Officer of FoodDrinkEurope; senior representatives from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, and the European Commission; and attachés from the London embassies of 10 European countries, as well as key Scottish stakeholders. A summary note was shared afterwards and feedback from participants was very positive. A follow-up event is planned for late 2025.

International Network Case Study 1 – Canada

Food and Drink Exports – Scotch Whisky Promotion

Scottish products continue to be highly valued in Canada, with 11 million bottles of Scotch whisky exported in 2023. Total whisky exports to Canada in that year reached approximately USD $310.27 million. Scottish Government Canada plays an active role in promoting Scottish goods to key stakeholders across the country. Building strong connections with food and drink promoters and agents is a vital part of efforts to increase visibility of Scottish brands.

In collaboration with William Grant & Sons, we sponsored a whisky showcase for our Summer Reception for Federal MPs, Senators and those associated with the Scotland Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group. At the event, we promoted classic Glenfiddich whiskies alongside a new release from their experimental range. The National Brand Ambassador shared the brand’s history, its business trends and connections to Canada, and highlighted the potential opportunity for further collaboration.

Later in the year, we partnered with Harris Distillery and Canadian distributor Noble Estates to launch the Harris Hearach Oloroso whisky at our St Andrew’s Day Reception. Guests sampled the new whisky in specialty cocktails or as a dram, alongside the traditional Harris Gin and iconic Harris branding. We further highlighted Harris products by distributing promotional items from Harris Distillery to guests, and encouraged attendees to join the community using a QR code..

The event provided these products with valuable exposure to a range of key Canadian stakeholders including members of the diplomatic community, federal MPs, media and the wider community, resulting in high visibility of Scottish products and branding.

Our established connections with agents across Canada, provincial liquor boards and Scotch producers have created opportunities to highlight a versatile range of Scottish companies and products. These connections have provided us with contacts to further promote Scotland at locally hosted events.

Inward investment

Scotland captured nearly one in six of all inward investment projects in the UK last year, according to data from EY¹¹ – marking a record share despite global economic challenges. Scotland secured its second highest annual number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, 135 projects in 2024.

“Put simply, Scotland continues to punch above its weight with inward investment.”Ally Scott, EY Scotland Managing Partner

This achievement reinforces Scotland’s position as the leading destination for FDI outside of London for the 10th consecutive year. Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow continue to rank among the top 10 UK cities for FDI projects outside of London.

While the total number of new projects in Scotland fell slightly by 4.9% from the record numbers in 2023, this decline was notably smaller than those seen elsewhere. The UK overall saw a drop of 13%, France 14% and 17% in Germany. EY’s survey of global investors found that a quarter of those planning to invest in the UK are targeting Scotland, maintaining the country’s long-standing position in investors’ eyes as the UK’s preferred FDI destination outside of London.

Capital investment

Responding to the findings of the Investor Panel, the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Programme for Government publications set out a range of commitments aimed at attracting private capital investment at scale in three priority areas – net zero, housing and infrastructure. The commitments are focused on activity to increase and target investor engagement; develop a pipeline and public facing portal of investment opportunities in Scotland and seek more co-investment from public and private pension funds into Scottish projects and businesses, by working with the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme.

Businesses unlocked £1.89 billion of capital investment, the highest level ever achieved, and over £449 million in planned innovation investment. In addition, over £350 million growth funding was raised by businesses, with a saving of over 460,000 tonnes of CO2 by businesses and projects.

Scotland held its first Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum (GOSWIF) in March 2025 in Edinburgh which brought together over 100 delegates, ranging from global investors and developers to project sponsors, ports, as well as key public sector participants.

In terms of investor engagement, the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and senior officials have met with a number of Scotland’s priority global investors since the start of the year, including at the GOSWIF. Follow-up by the Scottish Government’s Investment Unit through a strategic relationship management approach will drive a targeted engagement programme for Scottish Ministers.

International Strategy Case Study 2

Wellbeing Economy

The Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership (WEGo) is a collaboration of governments working together to put wellbeing at the heart of policymaking. Launched in 2018, at the OECD conference in South Korea, WEGo provides cross-government engagement and collaboration by connecting policymakers; knowledge sharing through engagement reports, policy labs and bilateral exchanges; and evidence-based policymaking using wellbeing frameworks to guide decisions. The membership has grown organically and currently includes Scotland, Iceland, New Zealand, Wales and Finland, with Canada actively participating, and the work is increasingly gaining visibility in Norway, Sweden and Denmark

Since the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership annual engagement report published in November 2024¹², the WEGo partnership has been very active.

In November 2024, the group met in person at the OECD forum in Rome. Representatives gathered to discuss the current wellbeing status and future plans for advancing the Wellbeing Economy in their respective countries. Key themes included legislative developments, integration of wellbeing into budgeting processes, evolving indicator frameworks and international collaboration. Later in December, Wales presented a policy lab showcasing its success in high-quality recycling and broader circular economy (CE) goals, including significant reductions in landfill use and strong legislative support.

In 2025 the group started the year with a webinar from guest speaker Matt Donoghue – director of Treasury and Finance for Victoria, Australia – on Victoria’s early intervention framework. The big event this year, however, was the Iceland Wellbeing Economy Forum in May. Taking place in Reykjavik and hosted by the Icelandic Government, the event brought together governments, academics, and global organisations to explore the links between health, the economy and wellbeing. Chief Economist Gary Gillespie represented the Scottish Government and, on behalf of WEGo, received the inaugural Wellbeing Prize, awarded by the President of Iceland. The group was recognised for pioneering policy innovation, fostering international collaboration, and inspiring other countries to adopt wellbeing approaches

Before the summer recess, WEGo held a roundtable in Brussels, co-hosted by the Scottish and Welsh Governments, to examine how the Wellbeing Economy framework can inform policy alongside economic growth. Discussions centred on the role of growth within the wellbeing paradigm and how wellbeing framing shapes government policy. Looking ahead, WEGo plans further policy labs before the next Engagement Report at year-end, where the Scottish Government will present its approach to Community Wealth Building.

International Network Case Study 2 – France

Using Scotland’s Global Moments – St Andrew’s Day

Scottish Government France and SDI France co-hosted our third annual St Andrew’s Day celebration in the British Ambassador’s Residence in Paris. British Ambassador Dame Menna Rawlings and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes welcomed around 400 partners from across France.

The event promoted Scotland as an excellent place to do business and showcased leading brands in food and drink, textiles and fashion under the theme ‘Une Symphonie Franco-Ecossaise’. Supported by Scottish Government and SDI, as well as food and drink partners, including Seafood Scotland, Quality Meat Scotland, Scottish Dairy Growth Board, and Scottish Quality Salmon/Label Rouge, the event attracted trade and investment stakeholders from priority sectors, government officials, cultural institutions and the media.

Guests were treated to a display of Scottish culture, with a bagpiper welcoming guests and a French string quartet performing modern Scottish music. We were also pleased to work with V&A Dundee, which set up a pop-up stand of its ‘Tartan’ exhibition.

Twenty Scottish food and drink brands presented a range of produce including salmon, meat, beer, whisky, gin and cheese, with students from the prestigious Ferrandi Culinary School preparing culinary treats for our guests.

Additionally, SDI organised a programme for the visiting Scottish companies, undertaking site visits in and around Paris to help understand the local market. An evening networking event with French industry experts provided further insights into the sector in France, with exhibitors noting 138 new contacts and strong forecasted sales.

In textiles and fashion, 11 Scottish brands met with 16 French buyers, including Le Bon Marché and Printemps, at a showcase hosted at the Embassy. Companies made over 50 new contacts and anticipate increased sales over the next three years.

While in Paris, the Deputy First Minister hosted a roundtable on offshore wind with existing and potential French investors, showcasing Scotland’s energy strengths and providing reassurance on our capacity to act and support the industry. She also met with the President of the Île-de-France Region, Valerie Pécresse, agreeing to work more closely on several areas including strengthening economic relations and on culture and creative industries.

International Network Case Study 3 – USA

Using Scotland’s Global Moments – Tartan Week

Performers from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in from of Scotland’s Snack Shack - USA Tartan Week New York City. Photo credit: VisitScotland.

During Tartan Week 2024, Scottish Government USA and SDI delivered a coordinated approach to promote Scotland as an excellent place to live, work, visit, study and do business. We capitalised on the increased visibility of Scotland generated by Scottish-American diaspora organisations by delivering a targeted visit programme for the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.

Working together, Scottish Government USA and SDI delivered a series of strategic engagements aligned with Scotland’s economic priorities. Embedding these trade and investment-focused activities within a broader Tartan Week programme allowed us to capitalise on Scotland’s soft power strengths which are particularly resonant in the US.

From an FDI perspective, the programme included five targeted business meetings: one dedicated to the Energy Transition Mission and four aligned with the Scaling Innovation Mission. This mission-led approach showcased Scotland’s sectoral strengths and investment potential to US stakeholders.

The impact of these collaborative efforts is significant. SDI successfully secured two inward investment projects as a result of these meetings, resulting in the creation of 70 high-quality jobs. The remaining three companies remain actively engaged, with two planning site visits to Scotland. These results reflect the effectiveness of joint planning and unified messaging by both Scottish Government USA and SDI, ensuring a seamless investor experience and reinforcing Scotland’s reputation as a dynamic and innovative business destination.

In addition, Scottish Government USA and SDI co-hosted a Tartan Week themed alumni and lead generation networking event. This event allowed us to enhance our network of valuable NYC-based contacts, increased awareness of Scotland as a destination for investment and directly contributed to the identification of a new inward investment project.

SDI also hosted a Food & Drink Showcase event during the week, attracting approximately 35-40 industry stakeholders and buyers from across the New York metro area in both food service and retail sectors. The Cabinet Secretary opened the event, with guests able to sample products from 15 different Scottish suppliers, including seafood, oatcakes, shortbread, chocolate, cheese, whisky and more.

At the Showcase, SDI connected a US seafood distributor with a Scottish seafood company interested in the US market. With SDI support in the months following the event, the Scottish company secured a manufacturing deal to produce and supply unique seafood products. As the distributor reaches 15,000 retail locations across the US, with plans to double that over the next few years, the Scottish seafood company projects export sales of £20 million over the next three years.

Tourism

VisitScotland exists to drive the visitor economy and grow its value to Scotland, delivered through its strategic focus on place development, business and experience development, and market development. These priorities align closely with the Scottish Government’s ambitions for global competitiveness, as outlined in the Programme for Government Six Point Export Plan.¹³

By working with key partners, VisitScotland positions Scotland as an inclusive, diverse, year-round destination, ensuring we remain competitive in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. In 2024, international visitors made 4.4 million trips to Scotland with 30.7 million nights and £4 billion spent overall. This includes 964,000 trips made by American visitors to Scotland – a 21% rise from previous year – and £1.4 billion of visitor spend with an increase of 17% compared to 2023. This made 2024 a record-breaking year for nights, visits and spend and maintained the United States’ position as Scotland’s largest international source market. In addition, the European market showed a substantial 18% growth in spend, driven by increasing visitor numbers from markets such as Germany, Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.

Market development activity is insight driven and targeted, focusing on key markets such as the UK, US, France and Germany, as well as analysis of opportunity markets such as Australia, Canada, China, UAE, India, South Europe, Netherlands and Nordic nations. Campaigns included partnerships with Expedia and Skyscanner, Le Figaro, Geo.de, Nat Geo and Amazon Prime, with notable returns on advertising spend of £117 for every pound spent in the US and £14 for every pound spent in European markets. In 2024, VisitScotland’s net economic impact of multi-channel marketing was £73.5 million with a return on investment of 18:1. This is a result of continued focus and strategic intervention to stimulate demand and expand Scotland’s share of global travel. Strategic partnerships with organisations such as Avanti, Caledonian Sleeper, LNER, Museums Galleries Scotland, RSPB and ScotRail increase our overall impact.

VisitScotland’s media reach in the US is substantial, delivering 252.1 million impressions across paid and earned media channels in financial year 2024-25, bolstered by partnerships with tour operators and airlines connecting Scotland and the US, and leading programmes of activity at key in-market events such as Tartan Week 2025. As well as a programme of stakeholder meetings, this included a paid media partnership with NBC New York, reaching an audience of 2 million across broadcast and social media platforms, as well as consumer pop-up activations in Madison Square Park attracting over 2,000 attendees. In Europe, ongoing activity in Germany, France and beyond includes partnerships such as the ScotRail France campaign, which promoted rail travel through digital content and social media, driving a 15% increase in visits to ScotRail’s website from France when measured year on year.

To support tourism and events businesses, VisitScotland launched a refreshed free-to-access Business Support Programme in March 2025, accessible via a new Business Support Hub website, offering tailored resources such as instructional videos, case studies which provide valuable insight and best practice tips, webinars and a climate action planning tool to guide businesses on their net zero journey. Supporting businesses to identify growth opportunities and trade internationally is a key part of this activity. VisitScotland advises businesses on how to reach new audiences and markets, then connects those businesses with the right partners and platforms to take their products into market.

VisitScotland Connect, the annual travel trade event held in Aberdeen in 2025, brought together 272 international buyers and 243 Scottish suppliers, generating over 8,200 meetings and a forecasted £8.6 million in supplier net economic impact and £40.3 million in buyer net economic impact. The Meaningful Travel Map connects Scottish businesses with the travel trade, giving them the opportunity to reach new audiences, develop their business and encourage responsible travel. Scotland was the first European destination to feature on the map in 2024, and there are now more than 30 businesses listed.

Collaboration with international tourism bodies is also a priority. VisitScotland was re-appointed to the Board of NECSTouR in June 2024, a network of 49 European regions committed to developing smarter and more sustainable approaches to tourism development. The organisation also maintains a memorandum of understanding with VisitFlanders, focusing on destination management, climate action and inclusive tourism.

International Strategy Case Study 3

Boosting Scotland’s Economy Through New Aviation Routes

Scotland’s connectivity with North America has developed over the last year with Ministerial representation at celebrations to mark JetBlue’s first ever Scottish service; WestJet’s Toronto and Halifax services from Edinburgh being re-established; and American Airlines announcing that a Philadelphia route would return in 2025. Air Canada also announced in March 2025 that it would start a direct service between Montreal and Edinburgh in summer of the same year. In addition, collaborative marketing campaigns this year have included those with Delta Air Lines to support its Atlanta route and WestJet to support its Toronto and Calgary routes to Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Scotland’s international connectivity and our Aviation Statement,¹⁴ published in July 2024, reaffirmed our commitment to work with Scotland’s airports and airlines to help grow connectivity with the international markets that are important for inbound tourism, business connectivity and the economy as a whole. To support this work, representatives from the Scottish Government took part in the route development forums Routes Europe and Routes World, meeting with a number of airlines to discuss future opportunities and promote Scotland as a market that can sustain more direct connectivity. Over the year we have worked with many airlines, including JetBlue, United, Hainan and Emirates.

VisitScotland has further supported this activity through its programme of ongoing consumer and travel trade marketing, highlighting to prospective travellers Scotland’s direct accessibility, and working with the travel trade in market to encourage their packaging of these direct services and to educate their sales and agent networks of this opportunity. Partnership and stakeholder collaborations on territory aimed at driving up demand for existing and future direct air services has included Scotland Week as well as trade missions to both China and Australia, and brought delegations of key tour operators on familiarisation trips to Scotland from new markets including India.

Three of Scotland’s main airports changed ownership over the period, with VINCI Airports purchasing 50.01% of Edinburgh Airport, and AviAlliance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada’s PSP Investments, purchasing Aberdeen and Glasgow airports through their acquisition of AGS Airports. These acquisitions show confidence not only in the airports themselves, but in Scotland’s aviation sector and the wider Scottish economy.

Major events

Scotland has clearly demonstrated that we are the Perfect Stage for major and mega events. We have a long-term track record of success, which we continue to augment. Within the last two years alone we have hosted world firsts, put in place a long-term sector strategy and secured a significant pipeline of events.

We are building on our successful delivery of the first ever UCI Cycling World Championships in August 2023, which brought together 13 existing world championships in one mega event. Having been chosen because of our track record and ability to innovate, we hosted more than 7,000 elite and amateur athletes from 131 countries and around 1 million visitors. The Championships also delivered economically, bringing total gross value added to Scotland of £205 million and global media equivalency of £330 million through international coverage.

In May 2024, Scotland’s refreshed National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage¹⁵, was published. The refreshed strategy aims to provide a strategic focus for all those involved in planning, securing, supporting and delivering events of all sizes in Scotland. It will help to build on our status as a world-leading events destination. The sector-led Event Industry Advisory Group is leading on the delivery of the National Events Strategy, via an implementation plan built around the themes of ‘Developing Events’, ‘Developing Industry’ and ‘Developing Scotland’.

Scotland is known globally as the Home of Golf and our golf events help retain this status. In the summers of 2024 and 2025 we successfully hosted our men’s and women’s national Opens. Summer 2024 was exceptional for golf events, as Scotland also hosted all three R&A major championships, with The 152nd Open generating an estimated £87.3 million in total economic impact for Scotland. That brought the total economic benefit generated by the ten stagings of The Open in Scotland since 2005 to £1.36 billion. It is therefore positive news that in 2024 the Scottish Government and VisitScotland agreed a long-term partnership with The R&A which guarantees 14 R&A major championships in Scotland through to 2034.

VisitScotland, through its events arm EventScotland, delivers International and National Events Programmes. The International Events Programme supports events which drive international tourism and media profile for Scotland. The National Events Programme supports the strategic development of live, public-facing sporting and cultural events in line with the aims of the National Events Strategy. Across EventScotland’s funding programmes, 72 events spanning 28 local authorities were supported across the most recent reporting year. Impact highlights include 484 full-time equivalent jobs supported and a Net Economic Impact of over £33 million.

Looking ahead, Scotland will continue to demonstrate that we are the Perfect Stage for major and mega events. In addition to continuing key aspects of the work outlined above, Scotland will host three high profile events in consecutive years, with the Commonwealth Games in 2026, Tour de France Grand Depart in 2027, and UEFA EURO 2028 the following year.