Aberdeen City and Shire – Fact Sheet

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Area Information
Aberdeen City and Shire is one of the most prosperous locations in Scotland, and the only part of the UK to consistently outperform the growth of the global economy over a period of 20 years.

Aberdeen City and Shire is a key driver of Scottish, indeed UK economic growth. A key factor in the substantial growth of the local economy has been the driving influence of the energy sector, particularly oil and gas.

Aberdeen City and Shire is home to a population of approximately 436,300 people, representing 8.6 per cent of Scotland’s population.

Aberdeen City and Shire accounts for 11.3% of Scotland’s economic output by value, making a powerful contribution to Scotland’s overall economic output.

Aberdeen City and Shire has the third highest Gross Value Added per capita (i.e wealth creation per head of population) in the UK with an index of 132 (UK =100; Scotland = 96) – behind the regions of inner London, and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Aberdeen City and Shire has a well qualified workforce with a higher proportion of working age population educated to Scottish Vocational Qualification/National Vocational Qualification level 4 (highest VQ4/5) than Scotland and UK. The region also has higher progression rates of school leavers to higher education (35% of school leavers) than Scotland (29% school leavers).

There are more than 400 internationally owned companies operating in the City of Aberdeen, and more that 800 technology based companies throughout the region.

Great economic wealth has been built on the success of the offshore oil and gas industry. Traditional fishing and farming industries sit alongside newer high-tech businesses.

Major employers include Shell, BP, Total and Talisman.

Exports by North-East of Scotland businesses in 2001 amounted to £1.26bn, of which £544m was whisky exports.

North East Scotland produces a third of Scotland’s agricultural output, with more than 300 companies producing in excess of £1bn per year.

In 2001, North Sea oil and gas directly supported 26,000 direct jobs in the UK with 244,000 others being dependent on the industry.

In 1999, tourism in North East Scotland was estimated to generate revenue of £200m, employing 18,000 people.

Aberdeen City
Aberdeen is known as the Granite City. It is called the Granite City because nearly all of its buildings are made of the pale granite that is quarried nearby.

Aberdeen is the Oil Capital of Europe.

Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city.

Aberdeen was built at the mouth of two major Scottish rivers, The Dee and The Don.

Aberdeen has a population of 212,125, a thriving, cosmopolitan port in the North East of Scotland.

Aberdeen has been ranked as the UK’s most competitive city after London and among the top three UK cities in terms of knowledge-based companies

Houses are significantly above the Scottish average.

Aberdeen is very well served in the education sector. It has excellent state and private schools including Scotland’s only International School. It is home to two notable universities (Aberdeen and Robert Gordon) and continues to develop a skills pipeline that is the envy of many regions within the UK.

Average earnings in Aberdeen City are among the highest in the UK, well above the national average.

Golf in Aberdeen City and Shire
There are 70 golf courses in Aberdeen City and Shire.

There are 25 links courses in the region including the world famous links of Royal Aberdeen (6th oldest golf club in the world), Cruden bay and Murcar to name a few.

Aberdeen City and Shire has 24,000 registered golfers of whom 11,000 belong to 35 private clubs.
The region is experiencing a major surge in golf tourism with the better known courses averaging around 7,000 visitor rounds a year, 65% of whom are from the US.

Air Access
Aberdeen International Airport, owned and operated by British Airports Authority (BAA), is the region’s main gateway, supporting the tourism industry and other important business interests.

The airport lies to the North West of the city and is approximately 10 miles from Trump International Golf Links, no more than 15 mins by car.

The airport has one runway, 1,829 m in length. This can accommodate a range of aircraft, including Boeing 757 and 767.

During 2005, 2.8 million passengers travelled through this facility.

The airport connects with key International hubs at Heathrow, Amsterdam and Paris. In addition, it offers access to a range of destinations within the UK, Ireland and North-West Europe.

Over 164 flights per week are made to London’s three International Airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead.

In addition to fixed wing traffic, Aberdeen International Airport is Europe’s busiest commercial heliport. Whilst the primary function is to serve the needs of the oil and gas industry, leisure flights are also available.
Airport management is currently undergoing consultation in respect of a significant expansion of the airport’s infrastructure.

A £10 million investment is proposed to extend the runway length by 300m by 2015. Increased runway length will accommodate new, larger aircraft. This will allow aircraft to operate at full pay loads and serve more distant destinations such as the West Coast of the United States.

A £10.5 million investment to upgrade the terminal building is also proposed. This will comprise a £3 million extension to the Common Departure lounge (underway), £5 million extension to the international arrivals area and a £2.5 million re-development of the Northern elevated walkway, to provide new departure gate-rooms and business lounges.

Proposed expansion responds to anticipated growth in passenger traffic going forward. It is anticipated that growth in volume will be between 2% and 2.8 % per annum. This could result in a doubling of passenger traffic to 5.3 million passengers per annum by 2030.

Tourism
Aberdeen City and Shire region has long enjoyed the reputation as a “must see” region of the country in any international visitor’s travel plans.

The region is popular with both UK residents and international visitors. During 2003 the region hosted over 1.7 million visitors, spending an estimated £380 million.

International visitors spent more, per capita, per night within this region during 2003 than in Scotland as a whole.

The primary purpose of international tourist visitors to the region during 2003 was holiday (39%). Visiting friends within the region (30%) and attendance at business events (26%) were also key drivers for international visitors.

The primary source of international visitors to the region during 2003 was the United States of America (25%). Other important markets were Germany (14%), Canada (8%), France (6%) and Australia (5%).

In regional terms, the European Union was the most significant source of visitors during 2003 (34%), followed by North America (32%).

The majority of international visitors to the region visit during the period from 1st July to 30th September (47%). The remaining 53% of visits are evenly distributed across the remaining three quarters of the year.

Activities
The North East of Scotland offers a wonderful variety of scenery and walks, from long distance to footpaths and cross country routes to sand dune and cliff top trails. This is perfect walking country.

Cairngorms National Park takes encompasses some of the most spectacular landscapes in the UK.

The area is home to Scotland’s only Castle Trail, with a selection of 13 of the world’s most unique castles.

Balmoral Castle – holiday home of the Queen and family. It was first recorded in 1480, but only became a royal residence in 1852 when Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert visited the Scottish Highlands and fell in love with the beautiful scenery and the people.

Easily accessible from Aberdeen is Scotland’s famous Whisky Trail – a unique trail of world famous malts, distinctive distilleries and a unique cooperage. The trail weaves amongst the woods and glens of the Spey Valley.

Two of Scotland’s five Ski Resorts are found in this area. Glenshee stakes it claim as Scotland’s most extensive ski area with more than 25miles of downhill runs.

Fishing can be found in many guises in this area – on lochs, estuaries, fisheries or rivers. For more exclusive beats you could try the world famous stretches of the Dee, Don and Spey.

The River Spey is one of the most important Salmon fishing rivers in the North East of Scotland. Some 8000 are taken from this river each year.