The report, titled ‘The Great Rural Revival’, addresses four sectors central to the UK’s rural economy – tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and small businesses – and finds connectivity improvements could boost rural employment by 6.8%, creating an additional 284,000 new jobs.

Over the last decade, digital connectivity has been improved in rural communities across the UK, creating new opportunities within previously disconnected regions.

However, a digital divide remains between the rural and urban populations, which is preventing rural communities and economies from achieving their growth potential, with many areas still unable to access reliable connectivity.

The analysis within The Great Rural Revival report shows that across the UK, the East of England would benefit most from digital connectivity upgrades, unlocking a £12 billion boost for the local economy and 42,000 new jobs.

Improved rural connectivity in Scotland could unlock £6 billion for the regional economy, alongside 15,000 jobs if rural areas had access to excellent digital connections.

Other regions set to benefit include the South West, where the local economy could unlock £7 billion and benefit from 39,000 new jobs as well as Wales, where £5 billion could be unlocked alongside 25,000 jobs.

The regional analysis demonstrates how improving rural connectivity directly supports the government’s levelling up agenda, which aims to spread opportunities more equally across the UK.

The report highlights how improved broadband connections could enable and power new technologies which transform rural economies and life – from drone farming and smart livestock monitoring, to wearable technology and automated booking apps for the hospitality sector.

Meanwhile, around a quarter of rural business decision makers surveyed as part of the report said they would make greater use of technologies such as cashless payments, video calling/conferencing or online booking if connectivity was improved.

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Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “At a time when communities across the UK are struggling, this new analysis demonstrates how improved rural connectivity could herald a Great Rural Revival.

“The last decade has seen fixed and mobile networks rolled out to new corners of the UK, and now the transformational potential of connectivity has been made clear with the ability to unlock £65 billion of new growth in rural areas.

“Through working closely with industry partners, the UK Government, planning authorities and landowners, we can deliver the essential network upgrades that will help to bridge the rural-urban connectivity divide, provide faster and more reliable coverage and unlock new jobs and growth in the process.”

Boosting UK Tourism

In the rural tourism sector, The Great Rural Revival shows that improved connectivity could result in a 9.9% increase in turnover, equating to an extra £842 million per year. Since the pandemic, tourism across rural parts of the UK has soared, with countryside retreats accounting for nearly half of all Airbnb bookings in 2021, compared with 23% in 2019.

Meanwhile, disruption to international travel in 2022 saw British hotels, B&Bs, and holiday parts record a 20-30% rise in enquiries.

As Brits cancel European breaks against a backdrop of intense weather leading to devastating forest fires and turn to UK-based staycations, there is further opportunity on the table.

With polling showing 13% of Brits are planning a staycation in Scotland this year, 70% of those surveyed believe connectivity is an important part of choosing a destination.

However, one in five (19%) have had holidays in the Scottish Highlands and Islands negatively impacted by poor internet connectivity before, meaning popular rural staycation spots stand to lose out on valuable tourism revenue.

The report shows that with new applications and digital connectivity rapidly changing the way people travel, spend, and behave, the rural tourism industry could benefit from embracing new technology and ways of working.

Robert Beauchamp, managing economist at Cebr, commented: “Our findings highlight how improved digital connectivity could unleash growth in the rural economy.

“These impacts would mainly be felt outside London, in regions like the North West, South West, and Yorkshire & the Humber.

“Improved connectivity could allow rural businesses to be more efficient, make full use of digital technologies, and create more jobs to strengthen the rural economy.

“Without improved rural connectivity, problems which could be solved will instead remain and the opportunities related to better connectivity would not be realised, meaning rural communities will continue to underperform relative to their urban counterparts.”