Brown slams SNP for "massively overestimated" Homecoming impact

BROWN SLAMS SNP FOR "MASSIVELY OVERESTIMATED" HOMECOMING IMPACT

The Scottish Government's previous announcement on the economic impact of both Homecoming 2009 and The Gathering was put under severe scrutiny today following an independent report by Dr Geoff Riddington of Grid Economics.

The output and the jobs created seem to be far lower than previously thought. The Scottish Government claimed that Homecoming created over 1,500 jobs and had an output of £53 million. The independent expert said it was 893 jobs and an output of £38 million. The Scottish Government claimed that The Gathering created 288 jobs, while the independent expert said it was only 115 jobs.

Shadow Tourism Minister Gavin Brown MSP said:

"This is rather embarrassing for the Scottish Government. It seems they have massively overestimated the number of jobs created by around 75%.

"An independent expert has asserted the errors arose from using a very flawed and outdated model.

"The Tourism Minister needs to explain why his figures are so different and also how he intends to make absolutely sure that future reports are more robust."

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