A Scottish tourist industry leader has spoken of a “complete lack of awareness” surrounding the incoming tourist tax that will apply not just to those visiting from overseas, but also to Scots staying closer to home. Mark Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance , said the term tourist tax should be dropped in favour of the phrase ‘transitory visitory levy’, which is expected to come into effect by spring 2026 at the earliest. Local authorities are now deciding whether they want to introduce the charge for those staying overnight in accommodation, such as self-catering rentals, hotels, and bed and breakfasts.
Mr Crothall said the scheme in Scotland would differ from those in places such as Barcelona and New York, which only apply to those visiting from outwith the country. He said: “The perception is that the so-called tourist tax only applies to a tourist, but the transient visitor levy that is being applied in Scotland applies to anyone, a tourist or not, who is staying in overnight accommodation. “A tourist tax in other countries is sometimes a direct tax on someone who is coming inbound into the country.
“I think a lot of people in Scotland don’t realise the distinction. The example I use is that, say if you have a fall out with your partner and you have to go to stay a night in a hotel until things have settled down, and in that area the local authority has decided to impose a transient visitor levy, you would have to pay it. So you are not a tourist, in that sense.
“There is a complete lack of awareness among the public that it would apply to them. “For example, I am in Edinburgh right now and there are many people who come through from Glasgow and stay for the evening for an event. “Likewise, someone in East Dunbartonshire who stays in Glasgow overnight after an event as there is no public transport available or a lack of taxis and stays in a hotel or a B&B, the levy would apply as a Scottish resident.
“This is one of the serious considerations that any local authority needs to factor into the decision as to whether they want to introduce the levy in their area and how it might be perceived by others and measuring that the potential gains are from collecting the payment.” Only the homeless, the travelling community and any UK resident with a disability blue badge was exempt from playing the levy, Mr Crothall said. Local authorities are now deciding whether to introduce the levy, which will be collected by accommodation providers and then passed to the council, which will then spend the funds on tourism-related projects to improve the visitor experience.
Councils will set the rates of their levy, which is expected to be 1 per cent to 3 per cent of the cost of an overnight stay. Aberdeen City Council said this week it was pushing ahead with the introduction of the levy, which could raise an estimated £1.6m for the city if it applied a 1.
5 per cent charge on overnight stays. Edinburgh’s council leader Cammy Day has also said he wants a levy to help the city fund its festivals Meanwhile, neighbouring Aberdeenshire Council said it had no plans at present to introduce the tax. Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway have previously indicated they will not adopt a levy given ongoing pressures on tourist businesses.
Mr Crothall said the association had always been “against the principles of a further tax on what is already a very high tax visitor experience when it comes to paying 20 per cent VAT”. He said: “Our concerns have been around the competitive nature at the price point.”.
