Scotland's first Center Parcs holiday village could be open by early 2029, the company's chief executive has said.
Colin McKinlay told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme the £400m project should have major benefits for the area – both during construction and once it was up and running.
Center Parcs wants to put up 700 lodges and accompanying tourist facilities on a site to the north of Hawick in the Borders – creating about 1,200 jobs.
The company hopes to submit its planning application this summer in order to allow building work to start in 2027.
Mr McKinlay was speaking ahead of the company's latest information day in the area being held in Selkirk.
Center Parcs currently attracts millions of visitors a year to its six sites across the UK and Ireland.
Its chief executive said they had identified the Borders as a "real opportunity".
"It fits so many of our criteria in terms of the area, in terms of the demographic profile of people around the area," he said.
He said the company already had a large number of Scots going to holiday villages in England.
"It was staring us in the face as the obvious place to look to put our next village," he added.
