Scottish Parliament seeks opinion on 'tourist tax'
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Businesses, tourism organisations, community groups and individuals can now have a say on the Visitor Levy Bill as it will be the focus of a new public consultation.
The Scottish Government introduced the Bill in Parliament last month, and if passed the legislation will give local authorities the ability to add an additional charge to overnight accommodating if they choose to do so. This will be based on a percentage of the cost, with the rate set by individual councils.
Highland Council is in favour of the "tourist tax" as says it will enable investment in local infrastructure. However, for some tourism businesses the levy is another blow in the midst of continued economic uncertainty.
A spokesperson for Inverness and District B&B Association said: "Our members are against the Visitor Levy. We've already had enough to deal with over the last few years, including soaring bills.
"Some of our members have seen their mortgage payments double, along with all the other costs, so for us the Levy is just another thing we'd have to contend with."
Launched by the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee the consultation is being used to seek the views of key stakeholders over the summer ahead of its consideration of the general principles of the Bill.
Following the consultation period, the Committee will listen to the views of stakeholders before producing a report setting out its findings. MSPs will then debate the Bill in the Chamber and decide whether it should proceed.
Guy Crawford, chief executive of Highland Coast Hotels, which operates six venues around the North Coast 500, said:
"We welcome any initiative which seeks to improve the quality of public infrastructure, the wider visitor experience, local communities and their economies in the north Highlands.
"We look forward to being part of the public consultation along with other businesses and tourism organisations from across the region to look at how money raised could best be
reinvested on facilities and services to benefit everyone.
"The north Highlands attracts thousands of international visitors every year, so our facilities and services must be world-class."
Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Committee Convener Ariane Burgess MSP said: “We’ve now launched a call for views on the Scottish Government’s Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill and want to hear from as wide a range of communities, businesses, tourism organisations and individuals as possible to inform our scrutiny.
“Tourism is one of Scotland’s leading growth industries, contributing more than £4 billion to our economy each year, so ensuring these proposals work for those connected to the industry is essential.
“The Bill provides a framework for local authorities to decide how money raised should be spent within local communities, how flexible they can be with where and when the levy would apply and whether certain exemptions should apply, all of which we want to gather detailed views on from urban, rural and island communities across Scotland.”
The call for views will run from June 26 to September 1.
Those wishing to respond can choose to provide a detailed response to the Committee about the Bill or make brief and general comments, joining the conversation about the Bill on the Committee’s engagement website.
