STAR Trek star Scotty and Mary, Queen of Scots, were beamed in to promote Linlithgow and West Lothian at a major tourism event.

Pride and Passion committee member Ken Richardson donned the famous Star Trek outfit to drum up interest at the VisitScotland Expo.

And Scotty was joined by Mary, Queen of Scots in a bid to attract interest from visitors at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh.

Tourism chiefs hope West Lothian's royal and intergalactic connections will prove a winner in attracting overseas visitors.

West Lothian Tourism Forum, a voluntary group of around 100 tourism businesses, prepared the stand.

Chairman Robin Chesters said: "International reps from throughout the world attended the Expo so it was important for us to make a statement.

"I think we managed to achieve that, thanks to two very famous Linlithgow residents — Mary, Queen of Scots and Scotty."

In the annals of Star Trek history, Scotty's birthplace is listed as Linlithgow. And, in a bid to tap into the lucrative Trekkie market, an exhibition featuring James Doohan and his character will open in the town's Annet House museum come July.

Helping to organise that exhibition is Linlithgow Heritage Trust chairman Alan Young. He said: "We're delighted Scotty was featured at the Expo.

Exhibition

"It will help raise awareness not only of Linlithgow but also the museum and the upcoming exhibition. Items from James Doohan's family are currently being shipped over so we're aiming to launch the exhibition at the start of July."

According to businesses in the tourism forum, West Lothian visitor numbers have increased in recent years.

And VisitScotland's Linlithgow-based information centre was very busy during its opening week this month.

VisitScotland's Suzanne McMorrow said there had already been a mix of tourists from as far afield as Spain, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

And the Easter weekend was busier than in previous years, with many French visitors from Linlithgow's twin town, Guyancourt, to mark the twinning link's 20th anniversary.

Last month, the Journal and Gazette revealed that visitor figures for the Palace in 2006/07 were up 16.1 per cent on 2005/06, standing at 51,844.

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