Highland tourism businesses are bucking the financial downturn with visitor numbers up 15% on last year.
The region has always been something of a magnet for tourists but this year the area seems to be drawing visitors from further afield than ever before. Operators are noting a marked increase in the number of holidaymakers from India in particular. It is suspected Bollywood movies such as 'Purple Lake' which was recently shot in the region is helping establish the area as a holiday destination across the globe.
One visitor from Mumbai said: "I heard about Scotland a lot so I thought that this time with my family I would go to a place which is appreciated by many and recommended by many.
Weve come north to see the beauty and scenic pleasantness of Scotland which we have never seen. I have been to Aberdeen and Glasgow but we've always been fascinated by this place."
Willie Cameron of Loch Ness Marketing summed up the reasons for the rise in highlands tourism.
"The success of the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'; the success of the Bollywood films, particularly the ones filmed in the Highlands; the marketing by White and Mackay, which is now owned by Vijay Ali - the leading entrepreneur, the Richard Branson of the Indian entrepreneurial business market - taking all these things into consideration and the value for money that they are getting in the Highlands of Scotland."
The area is enjoying a visitor boost in general - at Urquhart Castle on the shores of the famous Loch Ness, numbers are up a monster 15% on last year.
Stephen Bowsher of Historic Scotland said: "We think a lot of them are coming because of the strong exchange rate. Historic Scotland particularly and a lot of the other tourism sectors are working together very hard on the Homecoming for this year and I believe that's paying off."
Recent research by the Inverness Chamber of Commerce found the recession has left many Highland firms feeling the pinch, but tourism's bucking the trend.
Stuart Nichol of Inverness Chamber of Commerce said: "Tourism this year has been very positive across all of the indicators you would care to look at. Its been a very buoyant year in self-catering, hotels - everybody's reporting a very positive picture
