A FRESH bid is being made to attract more high spending tourists from China's emerging middle class to holiday in Scotland.

Visitors from the country are predicted to spend £1 billion a year in the UK by 2017, helped by simplified tourist visas which make it easier for Chinese tourists to visit Britain.

Meanwhile, VisitScotland figures show that China is now one of Scotland's emerging international markets. In 2013 visitors from the country made 34,000 visits to Scotland, spending a total of £34 million.

But tourist operators in the Highlands think far more can be attracted, not least those who interested in visiting the national home of golf.

In Beijing today, representatives from the Highlands will make their pitch at the opening day of one of the sport's biggest trade events, the China Golf Show.

Last year it showcased over 480 brands and welcomed over 18,000 visitors, and amongst this year's event will be a delegation from Highland Golf Links (HGL).

It is a promotional body representing three of the area's finest links courses and four major hotels. HGL will try to ensure the Highlands are on the visiting golfers' itineraries.

Neil Hampton, general manager of the acclaimed Royal Dornoch Golf Club, and Stephen Laurie, sales manager at the four-star Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness, are representing HGL at the China Golf Show, which runs until Sunday.

The trip is coordinated by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International.

Mr Hampton said: "Golf has grown rapidly in China and so we are looking to put ourselves in front of the decision makers for those that wish to explore the game outwith their boundaries.

"The volume of people in China means that even the smallest percentage increase in tourism turns into a very large number visiting Scotland. This is an ideal opportunity for us to show that Scotland is the Home of Golf and the Highlands in particular have a lot to offer."

China has a rapidly growing economy and one million registered golfers.

HGL argue Chinese tourists spend more than the average overseas visitor and value key items such as whisky, bagpipes, tartan, castles and golf, making the Highlands an obvious destination.

Highland Golf Links includes Castle Stuart Golf Links, which will host the Scottish Open for the fourth time in six years in 2016; Royal Dornoch Golf Club, which is consistently in the Top 10 list of the world's best golf courses; and The Nairn Golf Club, previous host of the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup and home to the Home Internationals tournament in 2016.

The partnership also includes the Kingsmills Hotel and Culloden House Hotel, Inverness; the Royal Golf Hotel, at Royal Dornoch; and the Golf View Hotel and Spa in Nairn. The group promotes Play and Stay packages in the Highlands to encourage golf tourism.

Fraser Cromarty, CEO of the Nairn Golf Club, is chairman of HGL. He said: "The Highlands has a lot to offer visitors and the China Golf Show is the perfect event to showcase this magnificent golfing destination to one of the world's largest emerging markets."

Golf tourism is already a major contributor to Scotland's economy and is estimated to be worth close to £220m annually, with forecasts of reaching £300m by the end of the decade.