Scotland’s planned tourist tax explained as visitors could be charged extra fee

Scotland could be the latest nation to charge an extra fee for tourists who visit parts of the country.

Under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, which is being debated at Holyrood on Tuesday, May 28, local authorities could be granted the freedom to decide if they want to charge an extra tax for visitors. If the bill passes, it would mean that tourists who visit Scotland would be charged on overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes.

Many European holiday hotspots already impose such a fee, with revenue going back into local development. In fact, 23 of the 27 EU nations were found to have imposed one in 2023, according to the Scottish Government.

Glasgow and Edinburgh are among the locations that are in favour of introducing such a levy, with 32 Scottish councils in total backing the bill as well as Cosla, or The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

Read below to find out more about Scotland’s potential tourist tax, including how much it could cost.

Why has a tourist tax in Scotland been introduced?

Scotland has always been a popular holiday pick for tourists, but with visitor numbers increasing, many areas don’t have the means to accommodate the influx.

In 2023, international visitors made a total of 4 million visits to Scotland, stayed for 34.4 million nights and spent £3,593 million, as reported by Visit Scotland statistics. Visits were up 23 per cent compared to 2022 and 15 per cent compared to 2019. The number of nights went up by 20 per cent from 2022 and 25 per cent from 2019.

While this is great for the tourist industry, especially after taking such a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, such high numbers can cause problems in popular spots, such as littering, overcrowding or increased costs for locals.

Countries which already charge a tourist levy, such as Spain, France, Croatia, Portugal, Spain and many more, claim to put this surplus revenue back into their cities, while aiming to keep tourist numbers at a sustainable level.

Manchester is the first part of the UK to impose such a levy, after deciding last April to charge tourists a £1 nightly fee through its City Visitor Charge.

How much would a tourist tax in Scotland cost?

If approved, there would be no one set fee for the tourist tax rates, which would be decided by each local authority if and how much it would charge.

For example, if a local authority decides to impose a 2 per cent levy and a tourist’s accommodation was £200, their additional fee would be £4.

The amount of the levy will be a percentage of the cost of the overnight accommodation, according to outlines of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill. The charge would only apply to certain accommodations which have not yet been set out and providers would be in charge of collecting the levy and handing it over to local councils.

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