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An extra £2 million in government money will be used to promote Loch Ness as part of a new inbound tourism initiative.
Plans with VisitBritain will be unveiled to further boost inbound tourism, spend and jobs across an area of Scotland already seeing record visitor numbers.
The four-year campaign will see extensive advertising, digital and business to business activity launched in key tourism markets featuring the Loch Ness monster.
The VisitBritain activity could generate an extra £3.5 million year for local Inverness businesses, equating to roughly £14 million over four years.
The Loch Ness initiative will be part of VisitBritain’s GREAT Britain campaign, which has boosted inbound tourism to the UK from around the world.
The fresh funding will be ring-fenced within the annual budget for the GREAT campaign, taking it to £47 million a year.
VisitBritain will work closely with Visit Scotland and Uniqueness Tourism BID, which will be responsible for driving forward tourism in the Inverness and Loch Ness area.
Chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, unveiling the additional funding today (Thursday) said: “I’m delighted to provide £2 million for a four-year campaign to promote one of the most beautiful parts of the UK.
“The Loch is a jewel in the crown of the Highlands tourism industry, which creates and sustains many jobs in Scotland.
“Around the world, Loch Ness is one of the best known places in the UK, so it’s right we place it the heart of our international tourism campaign.
“With local businesses now working to improve the destination, it is right that VisitBritain step in to help make more of this iconic destination.
“Visitors attracted by the mystery of the Loch Ness will discover a part of the country with much more to offer.”
VisitBritain strategy and communications director Patricia Yates added: “Inbound tourism is one of Scotland’s most successful export industries, generating jobs and growth across the country.
“Inverness already has strong appeal for inbound visitors and this extra funding, along with international profile generated around recent major tournaments across the country, can deliver growth for years to come.”
Inverness regularly attracts more than 200,000 overseas visits a year and the new campaign has the potential to see this figure rise by 50,000.
New figures for the first nine months of 2014 suggest that Scotland’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, as well as iconic landmarks, resulted in record international tourism spend during its peak holiday season.
International visits to Scotland passed the one million mark for the first time in seven years in the third quarter of 2014, 8% up on the same summer period in 2013. Visitors spent a record £846 million during their stays, representing a 12% increase.
Visits from a number of countries to Scotland posted double digit growth in the first nine months of 2014, including increases from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Sweden.