Meeting of the Parliament 19 February 2026 [Draft]
Let me make it clear from the outset that the Scottish Conservatives will support the bill at stage 1. The bill is a welcome step in the right direction and it follows sustained pressure from the Scottish Conservatives and the tourist industry. For years, we and the sector have been arguing that the visitor levy as proposed in the original legislation is potentially deeply damaging to a tourist industry that is already under severe financial pressure elsewhere. It is good that we are finally seeing recognition of that—at least in part—from the Scottish Government.
As we have heard, the bill does two things. First, it gives local authorities flexibility to introduce a flat-rate charge, or a tiered flat-rate charge, as well as having a percentage scheme. That is a welcome change that local authorities and others have been pressing for, and it will allow much greater local flexibility.
Secondly, the bill fixes an error in the original legislation, whereby third-party providers were not able to properly set and collect the visitor levy. That led to complications where platforms such as Booking.com were asking accommodation providers to manually process refunds to those staying more than five nights in their accommodation. That was an entirely foreseeable mess created by the original legislation, and it is good to see it fixed, although it should never have happened in the first place.
Many of those difficulties could have been avoided if we and others had been listened to at the time. Back in 2024, we lodged amendments to the bill to allow a flat fee to be presented, but those were not supported by other parties. At committee, the Scottish National Party and the Greens voted against our amendments and Labour abstained. It is good to see that our concerns were vindicated and the changes being introduced now, but it would have been far better if that had been sorted out at the time, rather than our having to introduce remedial legislation.
I pay tribute to all the industry bodies that pushed the Government for action. The Scottish Tourism Alliance co-ordinated a joint letter to the Scottish Government in May last year expressing concerns. It brought together 78 representatives of the tourism and hospitality sector and said:
“Without swift and coordinated action, we risk an unworkable system that will damage confidence and compliance across the sector.”
Others, such as Fiona Campbell of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, David Weston of the Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association, and the Federation of Small Businesses, among many others, joined in with those calls, and it is good to see them being listened to.
Although the bill is welcome, it does not fix all the issues with the visitor levy. The Holiday and Residential Parks Association has raised concerns about the proposed per-person-per-night charging mechanism, which it says will fall heavily on families. Staying in static caravans is an attractive option for low-cost holidays in the United Kingdom and is particularly important to those who are struggling with the rising cost of living. However, as the association has made clear, a levy set at the modest sum of £2 per person per night would add the significant extra charge of £168 to the cost for a family of six of staying in a static caravan for a fortnight. For people who are already struggling to meet the cost of a family holiday, that is a very significant additional tax burden.
There are other issues with the visitor levy that the bill does not address. The levy catches not only people who are tourists but those who have to stay away from home for work or for a variety of other purposes. For example, a resident of Glasgow who is sent to Aberdeen for a few days’ work as part of their job and has to stay overnight will pay the visitor levy, as will someone who visits a family member in hospital and has to stay nearby overnight. A family whose property is damaged by a flood or a fire and has to stay in a hotel or a B and B on a short-term basis will pay the visitor levy. It is not a tourist tax, as it is sometimes classified. It is paid by everyone who stays somewhere other than in their own home, regardless of the reason.