Scotland’s capital, or ‘the Athens of the North’, is well known for its film-set and beautiful appearance, and for its richness in culture. This is perhaps best exemplified by it being home to the world’s largest performing arts festival, Edinburgh Fringe, and the world’s largest comedy festival, as well as it being known as officially the second most visited tourist destination in the UK after London.It is no surprise then that tourism is a key driving force behind the city’s economy. The festivals alone generate over £100 million, alongside the fact that the city is also a World Heritage Site.
Edinburgh Castle and Edinburgh New Town are the two primary sites that led to this accolade, the former has parts that date back to the 12th Century, and attracted over a million visitors in 2007. Edinburgh New Town is an area of the city centre that was built between 1765 and 1850.This year the City of Edinburgh Council’s Economic Development Service released an official publication of employment and living statistics about the city. Currently, according to the report, the biggest employer of jobs in Edinburgh is NHS Scotland which is no-doubt well served by the University of Edinburgh Medical School.
The city has a total of nine hospitals, as well as The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Dental Institute and The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion.Edinburgh has recently become one of the top six financial centres in Europe. The city remains the home of the world’s fifth largest bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and finance is still a big player in the city’s economy, with RBS being the best performing company of 2008 with a turnover of £28 billion (according to Edinburgh By Numbers) with HBOS, Standard Life and Scottish Widows following close behind.Education is the next biggest employer in Edinburgh.
In particular, the reputed University of Edinburgh, based primarily at George Square, employs over 6,000 people. The city is also home to several other higher education institutions, including Edinburgh College of Art, Heriot-Watt University (which offers a unique masters in brewing and distilling), and The Scottish Agricultural College based in the south. Edinburgh is also home to 21 secondary schools.Tesco is Edinburgh’s biggest retail employer with 1,801 members of staff. Most shoppers tend to flock toward Princes Street in the City Centre where they can find upmarket chain stores and smaller boutiques and independents. There are also many retail centres located on the city outskirts.
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