Dancers from the Scottish Ballet have helped to launch VisitScotland’s annual £300,000 Autumn Gold marketing campaign, aimed at attracting additional visitors to Scotland from September to November.

This year’s campaign is themed around heaven and hell and will include television and cinema advertising and direct mailers alongside a new website.

Chief executive of VisitScotland Philip Riddle said: “Autumn is a special time of year in Scotland and through our marketing, we aim to really capture a sense of what makes it so special.

“Hell is the vibrancy of the autumnal reds, golds, browns and yellows and it is the adventure packed weekend out in the Scottish countryside. While heaven is the natural beauty of this time of year – being pampered at a spa or during a luxury holiday break.”

Autumn Gold is one of VisitScotland’s most successful campaigns and, in 2005 alone, was estimated to bring an additional £22m to the Scottish economy.

According to VisitScotland, tourism employs 200,000 people in 20,000 businesses within the country. The industry generates £4.3bn revenue a year, around 5 per cent of Scotland’s GDP. Details: www.visitscotland.com/autumn