A BOUTIQUE tour firm taking tourists on their own Scottish Outlander adventure has had bookings triple in one year.

Slainte Scotland, operated by history buff Catriona Stevenson, takes fans on trips around key locations used in the TV adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling adventure series. Starring Scottish actor Sam Heughan as hero Jamie Fraser, the story sees English nurse Claire Randall transported from 1945 to 1743 and into the world of clans and Jacobites.

Shown on subscription service Amazon Prime in the UK, the series has been an international hit.

While some production takes place in Wardpark Studios, Cumbernauld, the drama is known for its use of historic locations such as Doune Castle, Rannoch Moore and the town of Falkland, Fife.

Stevenson, director of Clyde Coast Tourism, began offering Outlander packages in 2014 after cruise ship visitors in her home town of Greenock began asking about the show. After a weekend binge watching the first series as research, she became “hooked” and now offers a series of tours around key locations.

Now she is preparing for a bumper summer after bookings tripled in just one year.

Stevenson said: “I have had fans of the series from all over the world – Israel, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain and even as far away as Japan.

“Most of my guests have always been interested in visiting Scotland but seeing Outlander gave them that push to visit.”

According to VisitScotland, “set-jetting” is on the up, with 40 per cent of international visitors to the UK influenced by images on the big or small screen.

In October the National Trust for Scotland said visitors to Preston Mill doocot in East Lothian had risen more than 25 per cent year-on-year after appearing on Outlander, while Historic Scotland said summer visitors at Doune Castle – known to Gabaldon fans as Castle Leoch – rose by 45 per cent. Stevenson says the demand has forced her to expand, taking on guides who can speak Italian, German, French and Japanese.

The 30-year-old said: “We are a boutique service, but every day I get Outlander requests, with some people asking about next year.

"An American couple at the weekend said they were doing a tour of Ireland and had no intention of coming to Scotland, but flew over for my tour when they realised it was so close.

“I had a lady from Cyprus with her family who flew to London and came to Glasgow for my one day tour, then flew back. This is what Outlander has done. Even when I’m doing Loch Ness or another tour, people still say they are big fans.”

Such is the show’s popularity that Heughan will act as grand marshal of this year’s New York Tartan Week parade – with Stevenson among those walking in the procession.

The mother-of-three was invited to participate by a major Outlander fans group, an opportunity she will use to further promote her business.

Stevenson, who met Heughan and co-star Caitriona Balfe while filming during one of her tours, says she is thrilled to be part of the celebration.

She said: “I am a big fan of the show and my favourite has got to be Jamie Fraser. I love going to the locations and I try to go off the beaten path. My favourite is probably Culross, near Grangemouth. It looks like a picture postcard and it’s so clean, the history is really interesting and it’s so accessible. It’s a gem.”

Stevenson added: “People in Scotland don’t see tourism as a long term career – it’s usually school leavers or people studying who work for a year in a hotel.

“They don’t think of it as a place to fix themselves and climb the ladder, but there is one there. It’s a good time to get involved.

"There is an optimistic future if they are willing to look.”