Eva McDiarmid from the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions says "we are growing," mainly Edinburgh.

Ms McDiarmid says "Edinburgh is becoming like London".

Image source, Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers

The ASSC website, external says the organisation formed in 1978, committed its members to maintaining the principles of “comfort, cleanliness, courtesy and efficiency” and to offering visitors to Scotland consistently high standards within their self-catering properties.

More than 30 years later, and now with a vastly increased membership, these ASSC ideals continue. As does our emphasis on understanding and providing a quality experience to our visitors and guests. It is still an independent Association run by and for owners and operators, which is funded entirely by annual subscriptions and services to members.

Visitors who rent self-catering properties are thought to be worth almost £300m to the Scottish economy, according to new economic research.

The trade body that represents the sector published research suggesting more than 10,700 jobs were directly supported self-catering tourism.

A further 4,500 jobs are indirectly supported by the money flowing through the sector, it claimed.

The research covers nearly 17,000 premises.

Image source, bbc

David Smythe from Association of Scottish Self Caterers says his sector is doing very well and is worth £733m to the Scottish economy.

Mr Smythe says most members are buoyant at the moment and ambitious for the year ahead.

He too raises the issue of Airbnb and the shared economy.

Image source, North Coast 500

Taken from the North Coast 500, external website:

"The North Coast 500 route way runs to and from Inverness, venturing round the capital of the Highlands, up the West Coast and back via the rugged north coast."

Tom Campbell from North Coast 500 says the international figures present a real opportunity.

Mr Campbell says a recent survey showed that the majority of visitors are from the UK and half of those are from Scotland.

He says that there is an untapped international market.

In terms of challenges "the goose is laying the golden eggs," and we need to be careful with sustainability of the eateries and up keep of areas on the route, he says.

Image source, Scottish B and B Association

The Scottish Bed & Breakfast Association (SBBA), external is the trade association for B&B and guest house owners in Scotland. It is affiliated with the UK Bed & Breakfast Association, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Image source, bbc

David Weston from Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association highlights additional costs and cost inflation.

Mr Weston says the recent huge rise in growth of peer to peer websites lilke Airbnb which are not regulated.

He calls for a fair playing field and says he is happy the Scottish government is looking into this.

Caroline Warburton from Scottish Tourism Alliance says visitor surveys are showing that quality is rising and there is real optimism going forward.

Ms Warburton says she is concerned over rising regulation and rising costs.

"Tourism is in strong health but we can't be complacent," she says.

Ms Warburton says there has been increasing costs through regulation and that APD makes Scotland an expensive place to visit.

Image source, WITCHERY TOUR

Scotland experienced a 6% surge in visitors from overseas in 2016, new figures show.

Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today highlight an additional 155,000 overseas visits were made to Scotland last year compared with 2015, strongly supported by a rise in the number of tourists from North America.

Visitors from overseas spent an extra £155 million during their stay – an increase of 9% compared with the previous year.

This compares with a 4% increase in overseas visits and a 2% increase in overseas expenditure for the UK as a whole.

Edinburgh is ranked the second most popular city with overseas visitors to the UK, and Glasgow is in sixth place.

Committee convener Joan McAlpine asks where the Scottish tourism industry is at the moment and what is the main challenges and opportunities.

Riddell Graham from VisitScotland says "the industry is in good health" and there has been an increase in flights coming into Scotland.

Mr Graham says, in terms of activity and throughput, "the figures are very encouraging indeed."

"Our marketing is going very well," with more digital marketing than ever before, he says.

Committee convener Joan McAlpine gets us underway by introducing:

• Willie MacLeod from the British Hospitality Association, external
• Tom Campbell from North Coast 500, external
• Caroline Warburton from the Scottish Tourism Alliance, external
• Riddell Graham from VisitScotland, external
• David Weston from the Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association, external
• David Smythe from the Association of Scottish Self Caterers, external
• Eva McDiarmid from the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions, external

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish leading visitor attractions "outperformed" the UK average last year, according to new figures.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) said it saw a 7.2% increase across all its UK sites last year but Scotland went up 15.6%.

The 10 most popular sites in the UK were all in London.

The National Museum of Scotland, which opened 10 new galleries in 2016, was the most-visited attraction in Scotland, with 1.8 million visitors.

It was the most popular museum outside London and 15th on the UK visitor attraction list, one place above Edinburgh Castle.

Read more here.

The Tourism Committee, external will shortly take evidence on Scottish tourism.

MSPs will take evidence from:

• Willie MacLeod, executive director, British Hospitality Association, external
• Tom Campbell, managing director, North Coast 500, external
• Caroline Warburton, Tourism Scotland 2020 National Strategy delivery coordinator, Scottish Tourism Alliance, external
• Riddell Graham, director of partnerships, VisitScotland, external
• David Weston, chairman, Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association, external
• David Smythe, chairman, Association of Scottish Self Caterers, external

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Scottish Parliament for Thursday 18 May 2017.

First up this morning we will bring you full and extensive coverage of the Tourism Committee as it takes evidence on Scottish tourism.

The south of Scotland enterprise agency and Scotland's fishing industry are raised during general questions.

Nicola Sturgeon is then quizzed by opposition MSPs during first minister's questions.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth will then lead this afternoon's member's debate on snaring.

The Scottish government will then lead a debate on the PACE programme before it is voted on at decision time.