US news channel CNN has named Scotland as the number one destination for tourists to visit this year.
The country's "dramatic countryside" such as the West Highland Way and Rob Roy Way walking routes were listed among the attractions.
The travel section of the CNN website highlights events planned around the Year of Natural Scotland, such as Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife Festival, Heb Celt music festival and Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight.
Tourism bosses said it is a "tremendous accolade" and a great start to 2013.
Mike Cantlay, VisitScotland chairman, said: "Undoubtedly the global success of Brave and the awe-inspiring images of Scotland in Skyfall will have whetted the appetite of many potential visitors from home and around the world. Throughout 2013 we must capitalise on this success and position the majesty and magnificence of natural Scotland on the world stage.
"Despite the tough economic environment, momentum is building ahead of 2014 where we will welcome the Ryder Cup, the Commonwealth Games and of course Scotland's second Homecoming. Endorsements such as this really help to secure Scotland's leading position on the global tourism map as a must-see destination."
CNN says it reached its decision after accounting for factors such as bargains, significant events and airline routes.
Scotland emerged at the top of the world travel destinations list, ahead of six others including Rabat in Morocco, Colombia and Amsterdam.
SNP MP Angus MacNeil said: "Our combination of natural beauty, as well as increased number of air routes direct to Scotland, and the fantastic events of the Year of Natural Scotland have given Scotland even more appeal as a place to take a great holiday this year.
"Whether it is outdoor pursuits like walking and climbing, a city break or visiting Scotland's many cultural destinations, tourism is a major industry across the country from Shetland to the Solway shores.
"CNN are joining a long list who realise the potential of Scotland's natural beauty, and add to that the recent exposure from movies like Skyfall which show off our magnificent scenery."
Year of Natural Scotland is a government iniative to showcase the country's scenery and natural heritage.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article