Photo used to advertise Scottish Highlands travel removed after it appears to show bus in China

The Scottish government has withdrawn an image from an advert promoting a Highland bus travel campaign after it emerged that the picture actually appears to be of a nature reserve in China.

Images of the pilot campaign, advertising cheap bus travel across the Scottish Highlands and Islands, went viral on social media when eagle-eyed users noticed features such as green road barriers that don’t exist in Scotland.

Members of the public suggested that the pictures instead appeared to be of a similarly mountainous region in the Changbaishan National Nature Reserve, thousands of miles away, along the border of China and South Korea.

Transport Scotland confirmed that the campaign had included incorrect images provided by an external marketing agency, which have since been removed from all communications.

The images, promoting a £2 bus fare cap across all of the Highlands and islands from 23 March, appeared across social media as well as transport websites including for Stagecoach and Citylink. They have since been removed.

But Highland Tourism, a community group that aims to harness tourism for social benefit, said that it was “shameless” to blame a marketing agency and said “questions need to be asked”.

“Blaming a marketing agency is shameless,” Willie Cameron, director of Highland Tourism told BBC Scotland.

“The responsibility goes back to whoever sent the brief across, when the campaign was ready to go out and being signed off.

“Why did nobody in the marketing team at Transport Scotland ask where the picture was taken?”

He added: “It never should have been signed off. The fact is we have incredible photographers and professionals who work in the Scottish Highlands and could have provided an accurate campaign with accurate images.

“They should keep this work local and questions need to be asked about how this was approved.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson told the BBC that it had “clearly” specified that the images should be correct including accurately reflecting the local area it was promoting and the vehicle type that would be used.

“An incorrect image was then provided by the marketing agency,” the said.

“The image has been removed from partner communications packs and will be withdrawn from any ongoing distributions.”