An island beer maker is to open a brewery, hotel and visitor centre on the mainland.
Isle of Arran Brewery says it hopes to attract 30,000 visitors to its new site near Loch Earn, Perthshire in its first year of being open and wants it to complement its popular visitor centre in Brodick on the west of Scotland island the company is named after.
The centre in the village of St Fillans will cost at least £250,000, with around 20 jobs created once the former Drummond Hotel is converted, the brewery said.
Due to open at the start of next summer, the site will have three restaurants, two bars and a shop, and the hotel will accommodate 30 guests.
The island brewery opened in 2000 and the visitor centre in Brodick attracts around 20,000 visitors a year.
Managing director Gerald Michaluk said: “The St Fillans site offers the brewery the chance to diversify and expand, producing a range of fresh and exciting brews in a new region of Scotland. The new premises will be situated on a stunning site overlooking Loch Earn and we hope to add to the magic of St Fillans with some island charm.”
The company bought Rosebank Distillery near Falkirk last year as part of expansion plans. The deeds of the site say it cannot be used for distilling until 2017 when a “micro-distillery” could be opened.
The St Fillans project is part-financed by VisitScotland and Bank of Scotland to promote tourism before major events next year such as the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.
The 15 million tourists who visited Scotland last year contributed £5.2 billion to the economy, according to VisitScotland.
Advisers from Bank of Scotland are working with a group of small tourism businesses to help them grow and attract more visitors next year.
Amanda Harold, relationship director at the bank, said: “Our new tourism partnership initiative will help build on the strong support we already provide businesses in the tourism sector, such as Isle of Arran Brewery, by ensuring that we have a clearer understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges facing small tourism providers.
“This expert knowledge will enable our new specialist team to provide these businesses with the vital day-to-day support they need to grow and expand.”