American interest in the drama Outlander has helped lead to a bumper year for tourists in Scotland.

Officials say the TV series, along with increased airline capacity, has fuelled a boom in "ancestral tourism."

Newly released figures for 2016 showed overseas visitors had increased by 6% to 2.7 million and there had been a 9% increase in tourist spending.

Favourable exchange rates and an increase in airline capacity also contributed to the increase, VisitScotland said.

Outlander is based on a series of books by author Diana Gabaldon, which see a nurse transported back in time to Scotland during the Jacobite rebellion.

Catriona Balfe stars as Claire Randall, alongside Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser.

VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: "Overall, 2016 was a very positive year for Scottish tourism, with these figures showing that there is a huge appetite among overseas visitors to explore Scotland.

"A growing interest in ancestral tourism, which in part has been fuelled by the success of the hit television series Outlander, as well as increased airline capacity, has continued to see visitors from North America coming here in large numbers.

"As revealed in our largest ever visitor survey, our stunning landscapes, our history and our culture remain key reasons to enjoy a holiday in Scotland, but it is also recognised as the perfect place to 'get away from it all', while many visitors also rate their experience here as 'a perfect ten'."

VisitScotland hopes to increase revenues from tourism to £1bn per year by 2020. The wider supply chain for tourism is worth around £6bn, roughly 5% of Scotland's GDP.

The tourism boom has mainly been fuelled by an increase in North American tourists as well as the region known as "rest of the world," VisitScotland said.

Mr Roughead continued: "Tourism is more than a holiday experience - it creates jobs and sustains communities in every corner of Scotland all year round.

"Thanks to the hard work of tourism businesses across the country, we are on track to reach the industry's Tourism Scotland 2020 target to generate economic growth.

"Last year saw a 9% increase in overseas visitor spend, something that shows the importance of tourism to the country's economy.

"We also recognise, however, that VisitScotland, together with our partners throughout the country, need to continue to work hard to ensure that Scottish tourism continues to punch above its weight on the global stage."