VisitScotland is seeking to appoint a North American sales agency as it aims to raise awareness and appeal of Scotland.

The business tourism unit of VistScotland is seeking sales representation in North America to convert interest from the meeting, conference and incentive market into confirmed business for Scotland through the pre-qualification of sales leads.

The successful company will also build, maintain and expand a comprehensive database and purse sales prospects, with a focus on the corporate meeting and incentive marketing.

The initial one-year-contract will have a budget of up to £65,000, with up to £5,000 expenses per-year, although VisitScotland has said that it is also looking for the company to deliver ‘innovative solutions’ to help reduce spent against this budget.

Two further 12 month extensions to the contract will also be available.

The deadline from tender applications is 31 March.

Yesterday, The Drum revealed that VisitScotland plans to develop further smartphone technology as it expands its digital strategy, while the organisation also faces a budget cut of around £400,000 as part of the tightening in public sector spend this year.