It's time to start shouting about the Borders.

For an area with such extraordinary heritage, incredible landscapes, amazing accommodation and delicious food and drink, we think the untapped tourism potential of our region is huge.

We're just an hour away from Edinburgh, one of the biggest tourist honeypots in the UK, yet not enough has been done to put the Borders on the national and international visitor map.

We need some big ideas ... some inspiring thinking that will capture the imagination of tourists, turn Edinburgh South, and boost the economy of the whole Scottish Borders.

To that end, the Scottish Borders Tourism Partnership has approached Tom Campbell and Professor John Lennon, the ground-breaking team behind the runaway success of North Coast 500, to deliver a new and innovative tourism strategy for the area. It won't be another road, yet it will be compelling and unique.

But we need your help to do it. With over 500 members, the Scottish Borders Tourism Partnership now has real momentum ... so let's convert that momentum into action.

The cost of this exercise is not small, although we believe it is reasonably priced. The Scottish Borders Tourism Partnership will contribute, and we are seeking public sector funding as well, but we need to show a real financial committment from our members and other interested parties too.

So we're asking for £10 from each of you ... or more if you can afford it. If everyone were to give us £10, we could easily reach our funding target of £5,000.

£10. It's not a huge amount to change the face of Borders tourism forever. And we are very serious about doing that. So please, dig deep, and help us ... the new Tourism Strategy will benefit each and every one of us.