OVER THE years, Scottish lawyer Louise Adams had enjoyed numerous luxury breaks in various parts of the world. In 2005, she visited Mauritius and stayed at the sumptuous Oberoi hotel. As part of the trip she and her husband booked a cruise aboard a yacht.

On returning to Scotland, Adams decided that a similarly luxurious cruise would be the ideal way for her family to celebrate her father's 50th birthday.

After hunting around, Adams was unable to find anything in Scotland that came close to matching the luxury experience she'd had abroad.

By chance, she spotted a gaping hole in the market - and a business opportunity.

Driven by her realisation that the demand for luxury experiences was not being met in Scotland, Adams and her husband set to work establishing LA Marine - a charter yacht company that takes visitors on tailor-made trips round the west coast of Scotland.

Adams explains: "The kind of wow' experience I'd had was hard to find in Scotland. Scotland has beautiful, gorgeous scenery and, maybe not this year, but the past couple of years, there have been some fabulous warm days. I began to realise what we could do because there was a huge gap in market. I wanted to bring St Tropez to Scotland."

Adams's gut feeling was not wrong. LA Marine began taking bookings for cruises this summer and trade has been brisk.

Membership of the global super-rich club has ballooned in the past few years. According to the most recent World Wealth Report, compiled by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, the number of millionaires increased by 6.5% to 8.7 million in 2006.

High net worth individuals from emerging economies such as Russia, China and India are venturing abroad and prepared to spend serious amounts of cash.

The UK too has its own band of super-rich. In Scotland, the burgeoning financial sector - the industry best for creating high net worth individuals, as they are technically described - has created a clutch of homegrown super-rich prepared to spend big money entertaining clients for business and themselves in their spare time.

Of the top 20 "wealthiest postcodes" in the UK, two are in Scotland, according to Barclays Wealth Insights report, published in March this year. Midlothian ranks as the UK's fifth wealthiest postcode and Dunbartonshire is 11th.

Adams says: "Most of our enquires are from Russia and London. The Russians don't mind what it costs, they just want it to be a fabulous experience."

Since starting up, LA Marine has caught the attention of editors at luxury travel bible Conde Nast Traveller. So impressed were they with the concept, they commissioned a 12-page spread on LA Marine for the magazine's September edition.

With its heritage, history and culture, wealth of outdoor pursuits and iconic brands - including whisky and cashmere - Scotland appeals to high spenders.

And Adams and her husband are not the only entrepreneurs capitalising on demand for luxury experiences within Scotland. A number of businesses have sprung up with the aim of providing the best money can buy for their clients, be they corporate or individuals.

Tapping the luxury market is something tourism agency VisitScotland is keen to encourage and it is ploughing money into campaigns that sell Scotland as a luxury destination. Last year, the organisation took out an advert in the Rolls-Royce calendar which is sent to all owners worldwide.

Last October, VisitScotland also began targeting the Russian market. Along with Scottish Development International and VisitBritain, the agency organised a two-day workshop in Moscow at which 14 Scottish businesses met with more than 30 Russian tour operators. This trade mission will be repeated this October with St Petersburg added to the itinerary. In another move to promote Scotland in Russia, the Military Tattoo will visit Red Square later this month.

Citing the Russian Association of Travel Agencies, VisitScotland points out that Russian tourists are the biggest spenders in the world. This trend is reflected in Scotland where Russians spend on average £99 per night - more than any other nationality. The Swiss are the second-biggest spenders in Scotland shelling out £94 on average per night. Swedes spend an average of £75 per night and Americans spend £74.

A VisitScotland spokesperson said: "We have a shared industry ambition to grow revenues from tourism by 50% by 2015. Attracting visitors who want to experience a luxury break in Scotland will be an important element in achieving this goal.

"Scotland has much to offer the luxury traveller, from world-class five-star resort hotels, to Michelin-starred restaurants and high-quality local produce - all set against a backdrop of vibrant cities and some of the most breathtaking scenery in Europe."

The notion of luxury has changed from 20 years ago when it was perhaps typified by a Caribbean cruise, a Jacuzzi in the bathroom or a designer outfit. But the accessibility of many of these goods and experiences - think easyCruise low-cost cruises and designers' "diffusion" lines - has diminished that definition of luxury. The super-rich want what is unavailable to the masses.

In its 2007 yearbook, Walpole, an organisation that promotes the British luxury industry, explains that "what was once a luxury - first-class air travel, a bathroom apiece, a private butler - has become almost everyday for today's uber-rich".

It continues: "Notions of luxury change all the time. What the uber-rich want now is a whole plan to themselves, adventures in faraway places, personal attention to all their needs and, above all, privacy and separation from the hoi polloi on an unprecedented scale."

It is this need for privacy and separation that, to a great extent, has fuelled the growth of executive air travel in Sscotland. A clutch of private jet firms have sprung up or expanded their services north of the Border in the past year.

NetJets, which pioneered the concept of fractional jet ownership and has the the largest fleet of private jets, now flys to and from 17 Scottish airports. Its smaller rival Club328 recently decided to base a 15-seater in Edinburgh to serve the Scottish market. The plane is particularly in demand by golfers and often flies groups from Scotland to play courses in Ireland, Palma and Malaga. The return journey from Edinburgh to Palma costs £1500 per person based on a group of 15.

Scottish entrepreneur Elena Torres decided to launch her own executive jet hire brokerage Exec Air Charter last September after building up contacts and experience while working at the private terminal at Edinburgh airport.

She does not own any aircraft but brokers their hire from a pool of private owners.

Torres said: "We handled all the private jets into Edinburgh. There were a lot of business flights. Gulfstreams would arrive full of Americans, businessmen would arrive from Geneva. But during the past year, I noticed demand was leaning towards the leisure industry. There is lots of demand for exclusive, bespoke packages for game fishing and hunting."

Although Torres's main business is organising charter flights, she also increasingly arranges tailor-made breaks that include hunting and fishing trips, visits to castles, helicopter tours in the north and spa weekends.

Figures compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority confirm the rise of private air travel to and from Scotland.

At Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, the total number of private and business flights rose to 6955 in 2006, an increase of 26% from 2005.

David Tobin, founder of Dream Escape, also frequently books private planes when creating tailor-made holiday packages for his clients.

Tobin said: "Luxury is devalued now, it's a rarity. What I do is distil the best of what Scotland has to offer. I create an experience, something my clients can't buy."

Tobin has been known to fly to the US and spend three days going over the holiday itinerary with his client.

"These people have personal trainers, personal lawyers, so why not personal holiday planners too?" Tobin says.

When prices start at £5000 for a weekend, personal attention is paramount.

Many of Tobin's clients are from the States and, despite the shrinking value of the dollar versus the pound, they remain major customers.

"Our US market is not dying off," he said. "The exchange rate could be five to one and they'd still come. These people are truly spending out of a different pot."

Tobin believes that Indian, Russian and Asian markets also have "phenomenal potential" for Scotland.

Andrew Hartley, director of sales and marketing at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, has noticed that high-end tourism has fewer peaks and troughs during the year. He notes there are a lot of corporate incentive trips to Scotland and conferences. Last year, the top management from Microsoft stayed at the hotel.

The US remains the number one market for guests at the hotel.

"I don't think that will change much," Hartley said. "But we have also seen a 200% increase in guests from Russia this year."

Another firm benefiting from the demand for luxury in Scotland is Wilde Thyme, which caters for bespoke parties and corporate events. Jamie Landale set up the firm in 2003. His business partner is Andrew Hamer, a former executive chef at Gleneagles Hotel.

When the firm launched, the standards that the "smart set expect on a day-to-day basis was not forthcoming on a daily basis in Scotland", Landale said.

He was shocked that when the National Gallery of Scotland opened its new link in 2005, the organisers hired a London company to cater the event. Landale's market research showed that catering companies from down south were increasingly being sent to Scotland for events.

Since 2003, Wilde Thyme has grown beyond Landale's "wildest dreams". About 40% of its work is private parties and 60% is corporate.

"Russians on long weekends or a shooting weekend demand very, very high spec," Landale said. "The corporate market is very American-influenced. The lead players in that field are the American merchant banks."

He adds that the demand for luxury is driven by the expectations of people outside Scotland. "Scots then see what's available," he said.

The entertainment industry's attitude to its clients has also changed in the past few years, according to Landale.

"A few years ago the attitude was, This is what's available. Take it or leave it.' Now the attitude is, We'll find it - but you'll have to pay.'"

But Landale is aware of his customers' expectations. "You can't charge £300 a head and bash out haggis, neeps and tatties," he said.

However, even as Scotland's fledgling luxury tourist industry is taking off, Walpole is warning that Britain's luxury industry as a whole cannot afford to be complacent.

Julia Carrick, Walpole's chief executive, pointed out that: "Government spend for organisations like VisitBritain has been static at approximately £32 million over the last 10 years."

VisitScotland last year received £38m in funding from the Scottish Executive. But Walpole argues that is a relatively small amount "when compared to the tiny islands of Fiji which recently spent £24m on one tourism initiative alone and Australia which spent £73m on its Where the bloody hell are you?' campaign".

However, among Scottish entrepreneurs in the luxury industry, there is much optimism. As Landale put it: "I don't see a decline in new wealth being generated.

He added: "There may be a feeling that whether it be for catering or lighting or staging, Scotland is still in the dark ages. But that's not the case. Scotland can go toe to toe with the best of them."