How The Traitors has inspired a surge in small businesses in the Scottish Highlands

Terrifying tactics, nail-biting roundtables and Claudia Winkleman’s outfits have all attracted millions of viewers to television programme The Traitors.

At the same time, it has inspired a surge in the number of small businesses in the area where it is filmed, new data suggestes.

The constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross in the Highlands, home to filming venue Ardross Castle, has seen a surge in microbusiness activity since season 2 of The Traitors aired in January 2024, according to figures from website building company GoDaddy. 

The constituency’s microdensity score – which maps the concentration of small business owners against the local population – has climbed from 0.65 before the first series aired to 0.99 today.

It suggest increased tourism to the area is driving demand for experiences, accommodation and locally-run businesses.

Separate statistics from the Scottish Government show that 28 per cent of small businesses in the area are in tourism-related industries, including restaurants. 

The figures show that the number of tourism businesses grew by 4 per cent overall last year, faster than any other sector.

GoDaddy’s data shows that neighbouring constituencies have also secured an uplift in microbusinesses. 

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey saw activity jump 76 per cent, whilst Ross, Skye and Lochaber grew 66 per cent.

Alexandra Rosen, economist and head of GoDaddy’s small business research lab, said: ‘Major TV moments can act like an economic spark for the places they spotlight. 

‘While the business of filming provides a short-term boost to local economies, the real opportunity lies as viewers become inspired to visit and book experiences to get a taste of what they have seen on screen, or local residents become inspired to pursue passions and fulfil local and widespread demands.’

A similar trend occurred in Calder Valley, the setting for BBC drama Happy Valley, which was the fastest-growing constituency for small businesses in 2023.

Highland small business growth is matching, and in some cases outpacing, that of key economic centres, including Glasgow South West (+69 per cent) and Leeds Central (+44 per cent).

It is also beating growth seen in rural areas, such as Perth and North Perthshire (+52 per cent) and Scarborough and Whitby (+50 per cent), although their microbusiness density scores are higher at 1.58 and 1.22, respectively.

GoDaddy and Frontier Economics say that just a 10 per cent growth of digital microbusinesses in an area can hike median annual pay by £360. 

It also adds 5.1 additional jobs per thousand residents and over £26million in additional GDP for a typical local authority.