Loch L Shores - Chief Exec     (500)                                                 Ruth Allen/Ruthmedia

After 17 months guiding the Loch Lomond Shores project to its fruition, Chief Executive Kevin Johnson is delighted at the ventures outstanding success in its first months. "We're very proud of what we've helped to create," he says. "It's been very much a team effort, and a good example of public and private working together. I would pay particular tribute to Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire and its Chief Executive Dave Anderson, project manager Fiona Robertson and construction project director Allan McQuade. The National Park has been well represented by Parks Officer Bill Dalrymple and tourism by James Fraser, Chief Executive of AILLST. We've welcomed the collaboration with Jenners' owners Robbie and Andrew Douglas Miller, and the Kilmartin Property Group led by director David Peck and project director Alan Mitchell."

Johnson suggests that "versatility and flexibility" are the main things on offer to visitors : "We represent different things to different people. For some we are 'the biggest classroom without walls' with our educational facilities. To others we're a venue for a corporate event, a wedding or a party. We also want to host more events like the Great Adventure Race, which promote the region and Loch Lomond Shores and bring in business to our site."

With a track record in sports marketing and tourism, including key roles in the 1992 National Garden Festival, the British Tourist Authority, the Great North Race and the Millennium Dome, Johnson is keen to stress the economic regeneration that comes with ventures like Loch Lomond Shores. "We're making an economic impact worth £35 million," he says. "So far we have created 300 jobs for the local community, and ultimately there will be 900. As well as the economic aspect, we show our concerns for the social, balancing progress and visitor amenities with the quality of life for the local community. We're a very ecologically friendly venture, acknowledging the need for environmental sustainability as the gateway to Scotland's first National Park."

Loch Lomond has always been known as a tourist attraction, but was underperforming compared to its potential, according to Johnson. "9 million vehicles would go up the A82 - but only 20% of them would stop. There were problems of limited access due to the private ownership of so much land around the Loch, and few facilities for the visitor. By taking a derelict site and bring it back to public use, loch Lomond Shores is aiming to reverse all that and make it a great location that people will come back to again and again. It's been great to have such a tremendous canvas to work on."

With the rolling educational programme, the theatre troupe providing special entertainment for the October week holiday, and the regular farmers' markets building up to the spectacular Christmas programme of events, Loch Lomond Shores is well on the road to fulfilling Johnson's aims to make it one of Scotland's premiere all year round destinations.

Loch Lomond Shores Telephone Number and Website:Ê 01389 721 500 / www.lochlomondshores.com