EDINBURGH--VisitScotland has named four agencies to oversee its consumer and B2B PR efforts in North America.

The decision comes after the Scottish tourist organization tendered the business, valued at as much as £1.6m, earlier this year.

The agency framework is divided into two briefs. Consumer PR duties, worth a maximum of $500K, have been awarded to incumbent firm Laura Davidson PR. The $1.2m B2B component, meanwhile, has been split between MWW Group, Weber Shandwick and Development Counsellors International.

The tender comes after the launch of the new ‘I am a Scot’ marketing campaign earlier this year, aimed at attracting more North American tourists to Scotland. The new push follows the big-budget 2009 Homecoming Scotland campaign.

North America is one of Scotland’s key tourism markets, accounting for 16 percent of all overseas visits. However, visitor numbers from the US and Canada have stagnated in recent years because of the economic downturn.

Earlier this year, Scotland also tendered a £500K international PR brief to attract investment into the country.