The decision to relocate Falkirk's tourist information office from the town centre to the Falkirk Wheel has been criticised by the area's MSP.

Michael Matheson, the Falkirk West SNP member, said the change could result in visitors bypassing the town altogether. VisitScotland said the office was moved to accommodate the growing numbers of tourists to the Wheel.

Figures released by VisitScotland on Friday showed 500,000 people visited the Falkirk Wheel last year.

The area's tourist information point was moved from Glebe Street in Falkirk in February.

Mr Matheson said: "Many people come into Falkirk via the town centre and as it stands we have no manned tourist office there to guide them.

"What we have is a touch screen booth that is hidden away, with very little signage to say it is there.

"The danger is that people will come to visit the Falkirk Wheel then simply leave the district and bypass the rest of the district altogether.

"This move has led to a reduction in tourist services."

VisitScotland said since the centre had been situated at the Falkirk Wheel, 9,147 people had visited it compared to just 3,626 who called at the Glebe Street office over the same period last year.

Sinead Guerin, VisitScotland's regional director, said: "We relocated the centre because visitor numbers to the town centre site had declined by 35% over the last decade to under 19,000 a year, and a substantial proportion of those were enquiries about how to get to the Falkirk Wheel.

"Now with the centre at the entrance to the Wheel, we have access to over half a million people a year, and we can show them what else there is to see and do in Falkirk, where they can shop, where they can eat and the other attractions they can visit."

Ms Guerin said the new centre was also being used to drive people into the town centre.