One of Scotland's top five visitor attractions has joined forces with one of the country's most iconic products to help reap dividends for Scottish tourism.

Scotland's gateway and wedding mecca, Smiths Hotel and The World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop Centre at Gretna Green, have become ambassadors for the Scotch whisky industry by securing Embassy status and launching a dedicated whisky shop.

The highly commended £5 million boutique hotel, which was launched just a year ago, is the latest recruit in an elite club of more than 68 establishments across Scotland which specialise in providing visitors with an experience conducive to one of Scotland's most famous product – whisky.

The hotel and shop has funded thirteen members of staff through the Scotch Whisky School, to ensure staff are skilled and knowledgeable in the production, selection and serving of Scotch Whisky, to provide guests with a memorable whisky experience.

Scotland's national tipple is showcased in the dedicated Whisky House at The World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop Centre with over 60 whiskies aging from 8 years to 54 years.

Favourites include the well known Glenfiddich and the rarest includes Glen Grant 30 year old, which has recently had the last drop poured from its cask.

The tourism industry has received an economic boost since the launch of the Scotland Whisky Embassy Network in 2003 with many flagship Scotch Whisky Embassy hotels across Scotland now reporting growth in Scotch Whisky sales of up to 10 per cent.

The network of Embassies across Scotland, which is worth an estimated £46 million* to the Scottish economy, was established to promote and develop whisky tourism in Scotland.

The select group mainly comprises hotels which pride themselves on employing staff who are educated and knowledgeable in the sales and service of Scotch Whisky and who can offer an environment which is favourable to whisky appreciation.

Criteria required to become an Embassy include a minimum accommodation rating of three stars, an extensive range of Scotch Whisky, a conducive ambience to whisky appreciation and a select number of staff who successfully pass the Scotch Whisky School qualification.

Embassies are encouraged to offer additional experiences for whisky appreciation such as whisky evenings, nosings and tastings.

Katrina Morrison, tourism product manager at Scottish Enterprise, commented: "Scotch Whisky is an iconic product which offers the potential to grow tourism revenues by raising awareness of Scotland and the gateway to Scotland as a first class tourism destination. It makes perfect sense for one of the country's most popular visitor attractions to link up with one of the country's most popular products to offer a truly Scottish experience."

Chris Conway from Scotlandwhisky, said: "Smiths joins a list of distinguished whisky Embassies such as the Balmoral in Edinburgh and Gleneagles in Perthshire. The hotel offers the perfect setting for promoting Scotch whisky and will provide visitors entering Scotland the opportunity to sample true Scottish hospitality at its best."

Head of sales and marketing at Gretna Green Group Ltd, Lynda Denton, commented: "Gretna Green is an iconic Scottish landmark and is truly the gateway to Scotland. As its gateway it is only fitting that we enhance the whisky experience here. We represent the best of Scottish manufacturing through our internationally renowned retail features and Scottish produce through our foodhall and dining in Smiths.

"We have added more interpretation and 'storytelling' to the Whisky House and of course with trained staff who have fresh knowledge we can speak to our guests and visitors about whisky with real authority. Tour operators have already shown an interest and the experience here will, I am sure, prove to be a great platform for promoting the distilleries and what they offer the visitor."

The Scotlandwhisky initiative is a partnership between the public and private sectors with the aim of exploring where the tourism and Scotch Whisky industries can work together to realist mutual commercial benefits. The project is financed by the Scotch Whisky Association, The Scotch Whisky Experience, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland.

Each of the Whisky Embassies, as well as whisky tour packages, can be booked online on the Scotlandwhisky website.