Scottish tourism minister Fergus Ewing has announced details of a new strategy designed to help increase visitor numbers to Edinburgh from 3.27 million to 4.39 million by 2020.

Ewing unveiled the Edinburgh 2020 plan at the seventh annual Edinburgh Tourism Action Group conference, which has been shaped following research and consultation.

In addition to growing visitor numbers by a third, aims also include increasing the value of each visitor's spend per trip by 10 per cent and the reduction of seasonality in the sector.

The strategy is hoping to achieve a 50 per cent of additional growth for the period between October and March, reducing the 40:60 split in visits compared with April-September.

Ewing said: "[The strategy] is ambitious and has clear objectives which will stand the industry in good stead for the future."

The Edinburgh Tourism Strategy Implementation Group, including public and private sector organisations, will be established in order to put the plan into action.

Details: www.etag.org.uk