England tourists going to Scotland face new ‘daily’ charge ‘per person’

UK tourists in Scotland face having to pay a TOURIST TAX as the country mulls over further restrictions and requirements for people on a staycation. Members of the Scottish Parliament are due to vote on a plan to introduce the new tax, which would allow local authorities to add a charge to using hotels, B&Bs, and holiday lets.

The Visitor Levy Bill in Scotland would see tourists charged £1 per room, per night. It is estimated it would raise £2.8bn in its first year. Marc Crothall, of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: “Tourism is everybody’s business and touches every household. If you are a florist, a plumber, or a joiner you are going to be working for tourism businesses.”

Accommodation providers would be responsible for collecting the charge and passing the money on to their local authority. Seventeen of Scotland’s 32 councils, along with national body Cosla, back the introduction of a levy, according to Scottish government consultation.

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Mr Crothall, of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, worries it could harm trade and Ollie Hughes, who took over the Ben Cruachan guesthouse in Edinburgh in 2019, said: “The visitor levy would not be the nail in the coffin for us, but certainly would be for other businesses.”

“You are then not even an unpaid tax collector, you are penalised for collecting taxes,” he said. The City of Edinburgh Council could be the first city to put in place, says leader Cammy Day. He said: “The city has campaigned for the last decade or more to try and bring in a visitor levy for the city to raise some essential income for the capital.

“People pay a few extra pounds to help contribute to the running of the city. The Royal Mile and the heart of Edinburgh at Festival time is awash with hundreds of thousands of people – which is great for the city – but it also creates additional pressures on services.”