GLASGOW has announced plans for what it bills as the UK’s most ambitious jobs creation target, with 50,000 posts in just six years.

Unveiling its new economic strategy up until 2023, the city council’s leadership said its plans would include an additional 1,000 new businesses within the timescale.

It is also keen to increase the number of tourists visiting the city from two million to three million each year, growing tourism earnings by almost £185million. An increase of one million visitors a year will require an additional 2,500 hotel beds.

The plans will be released today at the annual State of the City Economy Conference. This year’s main speaker is Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

Mr Mundell is expected to use his address to the conference to promote the UK Government’s continuing role in City Deals in Scotland, following this week’s Autumn Statement which confirmed Stirling as the latest area included in the programme.

He is expected to praise the Glasgow City Region City Deal, hailing it as a catalyst for future economic buoyancy.

However, he is also expected to claim Scottish cities risk falling behind counterparts south of the Border if the Scottish Government does not devolve further powers to a local level in areas such as economic growth, transport, health and criminal justice.

Central to its plans are the launch of Scotland’s first city innovation district, in the heart of Glasgow. The area around the Technical Innovation Centre, near High Street, already has £150m initial capital investment and a programme worth £250m.

The district aims to bring businesses, academia and government together with a focus on health and life sciences and engineering sectors. It will be located at Strathclyde University’s Technology and Innovation Centre and Glasgow City Council’s City Deal Tontine Building in Trongate The council said the Glasgow Economic Strategy 2016-2023 would ensure the city’s continued growth post-Brexit.

The city recently launched its own Brexit report on how Glasgow would pitch itself after the UK withdraws from the European Union.

Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety said: “We aim to make the next seven years the biggest jobs bonanza in Glasgow’s history. We know the 50,000 target is ambitious but we have done the sums and they add up.

“It will be across all of the city’s employment sectors, from tourism to high tech, from renewables to health and life sciences. This strategy is the most ambitious on record and rightly so because Glasgow is open for business.

“Glasgow has always faced up to challenges in the past and we will face up to any new challenges that Brexit may pose.”

The strategy also promises 25,000 new homes, 1000 “Glasgow Living Wage” employers, a 50 per cent reduction in the numbers of adults with no skills, new transferable qualifications to help residents find jobs and the launch of a tourism and visitor economy action plan in early December.

The council said it was also targeting new markets in Europe, North America and the Far East to bring jobs and businesses to the city and pledged to develop a childcare co-operative to help working families with their childcare needs.

Mr McAveety said: “Some may say our aim to increase visitor numbers is a target too far. But we have achieved similar ambitions in the past and we want to be even more ambitious in the future.

“When we pledged to take tourist numbers towards two million we were told it could never happen. But it has. That is an unassailable fact.”

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick said: "The plan builds on the excellent work already carried out by the Glasgow economic leadership to support the successful diversification of Glasgow's industrial and commercial base.

"We also welcome the strong local emphasis on tackling challenges such as productivity and ill-health so that the city's growth benefits as many of its citizens as possible."