Ministers embark on tourism drive

First Minister Henry McLeish will visit Stirling Castle

Ministers from the Scottish Executive toured the country on Friday in a bid to bolster the foot-and-mouth hit tourist industry.

Several ministers visited historic sites across the country in a bid to restore public confidence before the peak summer period.

The purpose of the visits was to publicise next weekend's initiative by Historic Scotland to open all its properties to the public for free.

The national drive by ministers came one day after the new chief executive of visitscotland warned that it may take several years to restore the industry to its buoyant position of the mid 1990s.

New tourism chief, Rod Lynch

First Minister Henry McLeish led the drive to persuade consumers that Scotland is still open for business with a visit to Stirling Castle.

His deputy Jim Wallace travelled to Scara Brae in Orkney, while Communities Minister Jackie Baillie went to Dumbarton Castle.

Finance Minister Peter Peacock also travelled to Fort George to encourage members of the public to visit their local historic attractions for free next weekend.

The ministerial team highlighted the opportunities which the open weekend will present to local hotel and guesthouse owners.

The offensive comes one day after the appointment of new visitscotland chief executive Rod Lynch was announced.

During a news conference to reveal his stewardship of the tourist body, Mr Lynch admitted that he would be using a business trip to the United States for leisure purposes.

He also told assembled media that the job of rebuilding the industry would take several years before it could once again enjoy the type of success seen in the post-Braveheart period.

The 51-year-old has spent most of his career in the airline industry, but has also held posts at Forte Hotels and the BBC.