There are no hobbits in New Zealand. Nor are there the mountains of Mordor. That didn’t stop Lord of the Rings fans traipsing across rural New Zealand to visit scenes from the film trilogy. ‘Tolkein tourism’, as it has been coined, was attributed by many to have been behind a huge jump in New Zealand visitor numbers, from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2006. "You can argue that Lord of the Rings was the best unpaid advertisement that New Zealand has ever had" according to Bruce Lahood, United States and Canadian regional manager for Tourism New Zealand.

Visit Scotland is now hoping that movie magic will boost both tourism and inward investment off the back of flame-haired animated heroine, Merida, star of Brave. Produced by Hollywood mega studio Disney/Pixar (Toy Story, Cars) the Scottish government estimates the tale of a feisty Highland princess – due to be screened in 72 countries - could boost the Scottish economy by £140m.

First Minister Alex Salmond attended the premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, using his visit to focus on innovation, tourism and jobs, while presenting Scotland as a "land of major opportunity" for investment. Visit Scotland has launched its largest-ever global advertising campaign to coincide with the release of the animation, spending £7m on the project, including a TV and cinema advert which will be seen by around 80 million people. So, is it worth it? I was one of a number of trade journalists lucky enough to see it ahead of its general release at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

The tale itself is a sweet one. No prissy, perfect ‘Disney princess’ here. Scotland’s Merida is feisty and a dab hand with a bow and arrow (her unruly red curls, do, unfortunately, lead to comparisons with a certain Rebekah Brooks; however Merida, though headstrong, does remain the goodie in this story). Voiced by local stars Robbie Coltrane, Billy Connolly and Kelly Macdonald, the Scottish burr might cause some trouble to untrained ears, but with its sweeping vistas, mountains and castles, Brave evokes an epic, wild and beautiful landscape in all its 3D animated glory. Now the kicker, I guess, is to get people to come and see the real thing.

It’s a, ahem, brave move by Visit Scotland but one that fits well into its ‘Creative Scotland’ marketing plan for the year. The Scots aren’t short on creative ways to get more business – Glasgow for one, with its Glasgow Model of risk sharing, is a city that seems to really ‘get’ the idea of across-the-board destination marketing when it comes to events. The rest of our ‘Creative Scotland’ press trip took in a number of exciting developments for business tourism. The new Hydro arena at the SECC, another Norman Foster masterpiece, will take pride of place in a cluster of modern design architecture on the Clyde, downriver from the Zaha Hadid-designed Museum of Transport. Meanwhile, hotel Crieff Hydro, Scotland’s oldest registered company at 140 years, has seen a new lease of life thanks to a £40m investment. The new V&A at Dundee is set to play a vital role in that city’s ambitious regeneration plans, as well as proving a hub for design innovation.

Doing business with Hollywood bigwigs seems a pretty canny idea, Scotland. Let’s see if the cartoon castles can convert the travelling masses.