LONG-RUNNING US news programme Good Morning America sent a reporter to a small Fife village to investigate the tourism boost Outlander has given Scotland.

Known as the "Outlander Effect", the time-travelling fantasy TV show has been credited with increasing tourism to the Scottish locations it features by as much as 70%.

Diana Gabaldon, the author of the books the TV show is based on, was even given the International Contribution to Scottish Tourism award at the Scottish Thistle awards last year.

Outlander follows the relationship between a Second World War nurse, who was sent back in time to the Jacobite period, and a Highland poacher. 

Its fifth season is currently airing on the Starz channel in the US, and the programme is a global smash hit - having been translated into nine different languages. 

Good Morning America - the US's most-watched morning show averaging about 4.1 million viewers a day - sent broadcaster Ginger Zee out of the New York studios and over to Scotland to see what all the fuss was about. 

After explaining the premise of the show Zee is seen walking through Falkland, Fife, which doubles as Inverness in Outlander.

Passing the Bruce Fountain, she says: "It's a wild story right - well, wild enough to get more than 5m people watching every week.

"And wild enough to give Scotland a huge bump in tourism. Especially in a place like this."

The camera zooms out to show a number of tourists taking photographs of the fountain, which features in the programme. 

READ MORE: Sam Heughan says tourist bosses are 'late' on Outlander effect

Zee then heads out on a "whirlwind tour" of locations used by the production, including Hopetoun House, Doune Castle and Midhope Castle. 

Doune Castle, which is Castle Leoch in the show, has seen the biggest increase in tourism as a result of the show - with attendance surging by 226.5% between 2013 and 2017.

Glasgow Cathedral has also welcomed a boost of 66.8% after it appeared on screen as a hospital in France.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, has described Outlander's impact as "truly extraordinary".