As the lead committee appointed to scrutinise the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1, the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee has now issued a Call for Views on the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill. The legislation and its accompanying documents can be accessed here.
The Bill gives Scottish local authorities the power to introduce an additional charge on overnight stays in most types of visitor accommodation. Accommodation providers will be responsible for collecting the levy from visitors and paying it to their local authority, with the net proceeds to be used to develop, support, or sustain services and facilities that are substantially for and used by people who visit the area for leisure.
The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) has developed a visual Guide here with key considerations and suggested responses to support the sector to answer the questions in the consultation.
We urge as many businesses as possible in the sector to submit a response to the consultation here ahead of the closing date on Friday 15th September. There is the option to submit a detailed response or contribute to the Committee’s Join the Discussion site.
The STA is now in the process of developing its detailed response to submit to the Committee, including an action plan that builds on the asks of their original Local Visitor Levy Manifesto with recommendations.
The STA’s Policy Group is due to meet with the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance, Tom Arthur, in October to discuss the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill in more detail. This comes at a key time as the Committee will be in the process of taking oral evidence that month.
