There are mixed views from the tourism sector following Highland Council's vote to proceed with a public consultation on the draft visitor levy.
At a meeting on Tuesday (August 25), Highland Council decided to proceed with a 12-week public consultation on its draft visitor levy policy.
As it stands, the proposals would see a tiered fixed-rate per room/area per night, rather than a percentage charge on accommodation costs with £5 for hotels and rooms and a £2 charge for hostels and campsites.
It could generate around £9 million a year to support, develop and sustain tourism infrastructure, local communities and visitor services across the Highlands.
A consultation will begin next month, with feedback used to inform a final decision.
At the December 2026 meeting of full council, should a visitor levy scheme be agreed, a statutory 18-month implementation period would follow.
But those in the tourism sector and business community have concerns around the policy.
Craig Ewan, who is the chairman of the Highland Hotel Association (HHA), originally urged the council to press pause on the plans until the full economic impact of the levy could be assessed.
Following its decision to proceed, he said: “We were very much hoping for two things: one, that they were going to get the financial impact study back so that people could actually see what that meant in more detail and also my other point was, timing wise, our industry is still very fragile.
“We're still in peak season but when we look at the stats on Inverness hotels and when I speak to hotels outwith Inverness, even though their July figures have been busy, they've been backwards on previous years.
“My concern with that is if you put a tourism levy on top of that, we are actually potentially going to reduce those numbers further.”
Mr Ewan explained it could potentially make the Highlands "uncompetitive" as a destination due to other European countries having a lower tax and in some cases a lower levy rate too.
Despite the concerns raised, Highland Council voted to push the draft plans forward to public consultation.
“I think they're probably frustrated as a council that this process is taking as long as it is, and I understand that, but this is for the long term and if we're going to do something like this, in my opinion, we should do it correctly and take the right time to do things properly,” Mr Ewan added.
“It's (public consultation) out there for the next 12 weeks and obviously we'll put in our input - we'll see where that goes.”
Visit Inverness Loch Ness (VILN) also put pressure on the council to pause the plans over concerns around the “disproportionate” price of the levy before the decision to proceed was made.
After the vote, VILN CEO Ellen Fogel Walker said: “We are happy they are going to continue with the consultation.”
But she hopes the council will implement the concerns they had previously raised about seasonality and the price of the levy.
They hope to “work constructively" with the council on the matter, she explained, adding: “We need to make sure we have a good system to reinvest in the area - we have an opportunity to get it right.”
Colin Marr, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said Highland Council officers have been working constructively with the business community, through a “shadow visitor levy forum”, for several months to design the best proposal possible for a visitor levy within the constraints of the current legislation.
“That work has been positive and there has been a strong collaborative approach towards co-designing the visitor levy,” he added. “However, that work is not finished yet.
“The economic impact assessment (EIA) has not been completed and that study will give vital information on how the proposed levy will impact visitor behaviour. For the visitor levy scheme that was previously proposed, the EIA showed that there would be a 3.75 per cent drop in tourism. That drop would be very bad for our region. This new proposal should lead to a smaller reduction, but whatever the estimated reduction is needs to be mitigated by spending some of the proceeds on targeted marketing to replace the lost tourists.
“The visitor levy forum has also not yet seen plans for how the spending of the proceeds of the levy will be governed. It is essential that there is industry involvement baked into this.
“We are therefore disappointed that councillors today agreed to proceed to the formal consultation stage before this work is complete. A delay of two or three months would have allowed the forum to complete its work and for a fully informed scheme to go into the consultation phase. Instead, the public will now be asked to a respond to a scheme without being able to see the full picture.
“In designing this levy we must remember that our accommodation sector is already heavily taxed compared to their European - and even compared to their English - colleagues. The problem is that the multiple taxes, that accommodation providers already pay, get stuck at Westminster and Holyrood and therefore Highland Council doesn’t have enough money to deal with tourism infrastructure requirements. So, the accommodation sector will always have a good argument – based on competitiveness against the UK and European market – for why the visitor levy shouldn’t happen. And Highland Council will always have a good argument for why the levy is necessary as they need the income to support the required infrastructure.
“That’s why fully completing the work that is being undertaken with the business community was essential before entering the consultation phase and why we are dismayed by the unnecessary haste of today’s decision.”
Trudy Morris, chief executive of North Highland Chamber of Commerce, echoed Mr Marr: “We are dismayed that Highland Council has chosen to press ahead with formal consultation on the visitor levy before the economic impact assessment has been completed.
“We have had constructive discussions with council officers over recent months and welcomed the opportunity for the business community to help shape the proposals. However, that work is not finished.
“The council’s own paper acknowledges that further impact assessment is required. It is therefore difficult to understand why councillors would choose to consult on a proposal before businesses and the wider public have the evidence needed to properly assess its implications.
“We have consistently called for a short pause to allow that work to be completed, and it is disappointing that opportunity has not been taken.”
It is intended that the visitor levy will apply for only nine months of the year, excluding the months of December, January and February, and accommodation providers would retain five per cent of the levy collected to help cover administration costs.
Indicative investment priorities include:
• 50 per cent for visitor management, infrastructure and services
• 15 per cent for community-led projects and initiatives that help communities benefit from tourism
• 20 per cent for culture, heritage and events
• 15 per cent for business development, skills and workforce support
If the scheme is approved, a forum will be established to advise on the operation of the scheme, investment prioritisation, use of levy proceeds and future reviews.
The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) were also pleased the council choose to pursue the fixed-rate levy, but its chief executive Fiona Campbell said: “Councillors have just agreed to consult without an independent economic impact assessment in front of them, and that's a gap that should concern anyone who wants this consultation to be truly evidence led. Businesses and communities deserve to see the full picture of what this levy could mean before they're asked to make an informed judgement."
A spokesperson for Highland Council has said the draft policy has been developed on “substantial evidence”, adding: “An additional external economic impact assessment will be available during the public consultation and therefore approval was granted to proceed with the next steps of gathering feedback from residents and businesses, that will play an important role in ensuring that any future introduction of a visitor levy reflects local priorities.”
Highland Council convener Bill Lobban added: “We have taken time to carefully consider the feedback received from our previous consultation. It is a challenge to provide a visitor levy proposal that addresses all the matters which arose; however, the new tiered fixed-amount proposal offers a practical approach for both visitors and accommodation providers to understand and administer.
“Tourism is one of Highland's greatest economic strengths, supporting thousands of jobs across the region. However, the continued growth in visitor numbers also places increasing demands on infrastructure, public services and our environment.
“A visitor levy has the potential to provide a new source of controlled funding that could be reinvested directly into our communities and visitor economy, helping to improve facilities, services and the visitor experience across Highland.
“This consultation is an opportunity for residents and businesses to review the draft proposals, share their views and help shape any future decision. We are committed to listening carefully and taking on board the views of local people and businesses, and their feedback will play an important role in ensuring that any future introduction of a visitor levy reflects local priorities and supports the long-term sustainability of Highland as a world-class destination.”
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