BORDERS MP Michael Moore brought two of Britain's most senior tourism officials to Abbotsford to show them the transformation of one of Scotland's most important visitor attractions.

The Secretary of State for Scotland last week met Mike Cantlay, chairman of Visit Scotland and Christopher Rodrigues, chairman of Visit Britain, along with senior staff at Abbotsford, to discuss how they could better promote Abbotsford and the Borders as tourist destinations.

He highlighted Abbotsford's iconic place in Scottish history and culture, as the home of Sir Walter Scott, and its role as a major tourist attraction in the Borders. He also underlined the huge investment in the project since it was awarded lottery funding a couple of years ago to build a new visitors' centre at the site.

Commenting, Mr Moore said: "Here in the Borders, we have so much to offer tourists visiting the area, from mountain biking and walking in the hills to visiting beautiful abbeys and historic stately homes like Abbotsford.

"Tourism is extremely important to the local economy so it is vital that Visit Scotland and Visit Britain do all they can to promote the Borders as a tourist destination.

"At the meeting last week with Visit Scotland, Visit Britain, and the senior staff at Abbotsford, we discussed how we can work together to attract UK and international visitors to the area by promoting our key attractions such as Abbotsford.

"It was a very productive meeting and I look forward to continuing to work closely together to draw more tourists to the Borders to benefit the local economy."