Holyrood committee seeks views on Visitor Levy proposals

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill will be the focus of a new public consultation launched today by the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee.  

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament in May 2023.  

If passed, the legislation will give local authorities the ability to add an additional charge to overnight accommodation if they choose to do so. This will be based on a percentage of the cost, with the rate set by individual councils. 

The Committee is seeking views from businesses, tourism organisations, community groups, individuals, and other 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. 

The Committee is launching the call for views ahead of a meeting in Kirkwall later today with Destination Orkney to discuss their views on the Bill.  

Commenting on the launch, 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, tourism organisations, businesses, 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 Monday 26th June 2023 to Friday 1 September. 

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.