John Swinney, the Scottish cabinet secretary for finance and sustainable growth, has confirmed the appointment of Dr Michael Cantlay as the new chair of VisitScotland.
Cantlay, who is currently chair and managing director of William Glen, is set to replace Peter Lederer and will be tasked with leading the national tourism agency in its bid to increase revenue growth.
A board member of the Scottish Tourist Board and VisitScotland between 1998 and 2005, Cantlay will also be responsible in leading VisitScotland in efforts to improve Scotland's image overseas.
Cantlay said: "Selling Scotland and developing Scottish tourism has dominated my working career. As such chairing VisitScotland will be an enormous privilege.
"Post recession, Scottish tourism faces a new, challenging environment. It will be my objective to lead VisitScotland, our partners and the industry to seize the step change opportunities that will drive our industry forward toward our ambitious targets."
