Tag: cruise ship levy

Local cruise ship levy could raise over £1 million for Edinburgh

A cruise ship levy could help to ensure residents benefit from Edinburgh’s popularity as a cruise ship stop.

In a formal response to be submitted to the Scottish Government’s Cruise Ship Levy consultation, the council has expressed strong support in principle for a levy to help it manage tourism sustainably at Edinburgh’s ports.

The response also calls for any legislation to be based on evidence and involve greater consultation with ports and the cruise ship industry, as well as close working with other local authorities and regional partners.

Close to 217,500 cruise ship passengers visit Edinburgh and the region annually, with a significant number docking in Leith, Newhaven and South Queensferry. Currently, passengers are exempt from paying local visitor levies.

While any legislation to introduce a national Cruise Ship Levy is still to be developed, comparisons to similar sized destinations suggest it could raise over one million pounds for Edinburgh and the region.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “Next summer we’ll become the first city in Scotland to launch a visitor levy, but under the Scottish Government’s legislation cruise ship passengers will be exempt.

“We consider it fair to treat all overnight visitors to Edinburgh the same, whether they choose to stay in a hotel, a short-term let, a campsite or a cruise ship.

“With public finances under increasing pressure, we believe this legislation should be used to empower councils to raise more income locally to better manage cruise ship tourism and pollution in our waters. As such, income raised should be ringfenced for the local area.

“In our waters we’re seeing more ships docking year on year, larger ships, and with that comes an environmental impact. Cruise ship tourism affects local communities and services just as other tourism does.”

You can view the City of Edinburgh Council’s draft response to the Scottish Government’s Cruise Ship Levy Consultation.

A final version will be submitted shortly, including amendments agreed at a meeting of the Policy and Sustainability Committee on Tuesday 27 May.

Cruise Ship Levy consultation

Views sought on proposed new power for councils

Local authorities could be given the optional power to introduce a tax on cruise ships that visit their areas in future.

The Scottish Government is seeking views on the practicalities of such a levy, as well as the potential market implications and effect on local economies and communities.

Analysis shows there were around 1,000 cruise ship visits to Scottish ports in 2024, bringing 1.2 million passengers – an increase of almost 400,000 per year compared with 2019.   

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “The tourism sector is a crucially important part of the Scottish economy and cruise visits are increasing. The consultation will help to inform the Scottish Government’s decision over whether or not to bring forward legislation and it is really important that we hear from a wide variety of voices on this matter.

“Last year, we held events to hear the views of the cruise ship industry, local government, and others. We want to continue the helpful dialogue which started at those events, and explore further what a cruise ship levy could mean in a Scottish context.”

Consultation on a potential local authority Cruise Ship Levy in Scotland – gov.scot

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a nationwide cruise ship levy.

The areas that welcome the most cruise passengers are Invergordon, Orkney, Edinburgh, Lerwick, and Greenock, and the average ship in the five busiest ports carries over 1,000 passengers.