US tourist drive for Perthshire

The stand brought a glimpse of Perthshire to New York visitors

Hopes are high of a US tourism invasion of Perthshire following a publicity drive in New York.

A delegation which travelled to America during Tartan Week handed out more than 5,000 promotional packs on the area.

It was also estimated that a stand at New York's Grand Central Station attracted about 500 people every day.

Tourism body VisitScotland will now be asked to analyse the findings of the trade mission in a drive to turn the interest into visitors.

The stand, part of VisitScotland's Scotland Village, highlighted Perth and Kinross as a location of outstanding natural beauty and tranquil surroundings.

'Large' exposure

A quarter of visitors to the stand said they were planning to come to Scotland.

Although a high percentage of visitors had taken holidays in places such as Pitlochry and Aberfeldy, they did not realise they had been in Perthshire.

Many also wanted to discover more about possible ancestors in area and there was also interest about Scone Palace and Gleneagles, following last year's G8 Summit.

'Important' year

Gleneagles managing director Peter Lederer said: "Perthshire has much to offer American visitors of which the scenery is just one aspect."

Lady Stormont of Scone Palace is confident the trip will boost visitors to the property.

"2006 is a particularly important year for Scone Palace, given that we are celebrating the 700th anniversary of the inauguration of Robert the Bruce to the Scottish throne," she said.

Perth and Kinross Council enterprise convener Alan Livingstone, who was in New York, said: "The findings show the success of this event and the valuable information gathered which will allow us to further develop our tourism product and businesses in Perth and Kinross."