EXPERIENCING the sights, sounds and colours of India is a rite of package for many young backpackers hitting the trail for the first time.
But now its appears for many Indians a visit to one of Scotland's most scenic lochs is top of the list when it comes to a foreign holiday adventure. Cruises on Loch Lomond are being inundated with visitors from the subcontinent with hundreds packing on to boats each weekend to set sail and see stunning scenery renowned throughout the world.
The upsurge has been bought about by a sudden interest in the Scottish market by tour operators abroad and is being fuelled by visitors keen to explore Scottish links with relatives either permanently residing here or over to attend university.
Stuart Cordner, managing director of Cruise Loch Lomond, said on some weekends they were experiencing saturation point with the number tourists from India. He has six boats on the loch and said he can have as many as 250 Indian tourists arriving for a trip on the weekend.
He said: "What we are finding is large numbers of people from India and Bangladesh are coming here and tour operators abroad have picked up on that.
"They want to tick the 'Loch Lomond box', so we are getting more and more bookings from companies that have heard about what we are doing.
"They want the whole Scottish package and are just blown away by the scenery at the north of the Loch. The feedback we get is that they really enjoy themselves. They are a very warm and open people."
Visitors arrive by coach at Tarbet and take a one-hour cruise before disembarking again at Inveruglas to continue their trip on to the Highlands.
Mr Corden, 41, said many were very knowledgable about Scotland and had come prepared to see the sights. As well as tourists from India, there have also been increasing numbers from China and Russia, although the rise has not been as marked.
He added: "They are in awe of the loch and want to see Ben Lomond and Rob Roy's cave. They know about that from the film or from reading Walter Scott's tales of Rob Roy MacGregor."
Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said the upsurge in tourists from India and beyond was the result of years of work behind the scenes to break into these lucrative markets.
He said: "Early indications for this year are extremely positive, especially in our emerging markets with visits up 5% and spend up by 9% for the past 12 months.
"We've been working hard over recent years to bridge the gap into these potentially lucrative markets, particularly in India and China.
"Our SCOTSagent programme, which promotes Scotland through online classes to tour operators, has now signed up more than 1800 ambassadors in India and 750 in China, something we're immensely proud of."
He added: "When you add in a rise in buyers coming to our annual trade expo, continuing improvements in air connectivity to the country's major airports and the momentous sporting and cultural events in 2014, Scotland is in the perfect position to grow these markets even further."
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