A DIGITAL gaming boom could provide a boost to tourism in West Fife as part of new trend identified by VisitScotland.

With many Scottish landscapes, including the iconic Forth Bridges, featuring in video games, the national tourism organisation believe that the "consoliday" (console-holiday), where people choose to experience in real life the virtual landscapes within games or wish to visit the country in which the game was conceived, could lead to a boom in visitors across the country.

They are hopeful that it could be as popular as "set-jetting", where people visit a destination after seeing it in a film, and with the Forth Bridges featuring in the iconic Grand Theft Auto series VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead hopes West Fife and other parts of the country will benefit.

Game development and design will play a significant role in Scotland's Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016, with events over the year including Dare ProtoPlay - Scotland's largest video games festival - celebrating innovation, creativity and talent in the industry.

Mr Roughead said: "The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on Scotland’s fascinating creative achievements. Scotland’s video games industry is a thriving, internationally acclaimed sector which punches well above its weight and is a major contributor to our country’s economy.

“We are delighted that the new consoliday trend has potential, with gamers from home and abroad heading to Scotland to discover the landscapes they’ve seen virtually, and also experience where the inspiration for many world famous games began.”

Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design began on January 1 and for more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/IAD2016.