A major new television series set in Scotland could serve as the country's answer to Game Of Thrones, according to tourism chiefs.
VisitScotland believes the much-anticipated adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books, which enjoyed a red-carpet premiere in California at the weekend, could turn Scotland into a magnet for fans of the show and the best-selling novels.
The tourism body said it will carry out various campaigns over the coming months to encourage would-be visitors to enjoy an Outlander-style adventure in Scotland, where most of the series was filmed.
They hope the new show will mirror the success of cult HBO series Game Of Thrones, which has helped further Northern Ireland's reputation as a go-to place for the film industry.
Outlander follows the story of Claire Randall, played by Caitriona Balfe, a married English combat nurse from 1945 who, while on a second honeymoon in Inverness, is swept back in time to the 18th-century Scottish Highlands.
There, she meets Jamie, played by Scottish actor Sam Heughan, a young warrior, with whom she becomes romantically linked.
Filming of the 16-part series began in October in locations such as Glasgow, Perthshire, Fife, Edinburgh and West Lothian.
Produced by Sony Pictures Television, it is due to be shown on the US TV network Starz next month and will hit Australian television later this year.
VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: "While in America, I have personally seen queues for Diana Gabaldon book-signings disappear round the block.
"The television series is potentially huge for Scotland and could well be our answer to Game Of Thrones.
"Scotland really is the star of Outlander and its focus on stunning scenery, romance, adventure and ancestry make it a fantastic advert for Scotland.
"Research has shown that around a fifth of visitors to Scotland are inspired to come here after seeing it on television or on film and, that being the case, we are hoping for big things from Outlander."
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