Hansard

I thank members from across the chamber for their contributions. It is important to identify the points of consensus, because we have secured considerable cross-party agreement on the bill and ought to be proud of that. I am also grateful to the members who have resisted what Willie Rennie called “the temptation to add … bells and whistles” to the bill, given the timeframe. That resistance has helped us to complete our scrutiny today, with a full day to spare in advance of the conclusion of this session of Parliament. When I have spoken to stakeholders about the bill in recent weeks, they have repeatedly highlighted how pleased they are to see politicians from across the chamber working together. Such consensus reflects Parliament at its best, with all parties coming together to deliver legislative improvements for local government and, importantly, for our vital tourism sector.

We have spent a considerable amount of time working to identify the right approach to supporting investment in our tourism sector, and it is important to recognise that comparatively small investments in visitor services can be transformational for communities and for visitor experiences, as we have seen with recent investments from the rural tourism infrastructure fund. In Orkney, there was £750,000 for visitor infrastructure in Dounby to help to deliver a visitor hub that serves the needs of both tourists and the local community, reducing pressure on key natural and cultural heritage sites and improving the visitor experience. In the Highlands, £250,000 was awarded to the Glencoe greenway, delivering a new traffic-free active travel route and creating a new path as well as upgrading an existing one.

In Stirling, £230,000 was awarded to the Trossachs scenic viewpoint, delivering the final stage of a visitor management project that includes a high-quality landmark viewpoint at the busy Trossachs pier visitor hub. That is something that I am sure that Evelyn Tweed would recognise. I congratulate her on her session in Parliament. It has been a pleasure working with her, and I know that she is hugely committed to the Stirling area and is keen to see tourism there go from strength to strength because the area has tremendous attractions to offer. I wish her every success in whatever she decides to pursue in future.

It is those types of investment that the visitor levy revenue is intended to support, and having a visitor levy scheme in place will help to ensure that local authorities can fund future projects that will boost visitor services without diverting resources from local communities.

We heard a final speech today from Sarah Boyack. Members may not know that I first met Sarah way back in the 1980s when we were both involved in student politics. It was long ago—a different world and a different time—so it was great to see her in Parliament when she was re-elected. The list of her achievements across a wide range of policy areas is long and impressive, and likewise I wish her every success in the future.

I thank Fergus Ewing for his compliments, but I must very strongly tell him that the SNP Government is firmly pro-business. That is true of the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, the Deputy First Minister, all Cabinet ministers and all members of the party, who absolutely recognise the critical role that business plays in building a strong economy for Scotland, which is the key to a successful future.

I very much agree with Willie Rennie’s comments about the leadership of the tourism industry, which is critical not only because of the revenue and economic activity that the industry generates but because of the opportunities that it presents to communities across the whole country—few sectors can match that geographical reach. It also presents a hugely important front window for Scotland internationally. I have no doubt that it is a key element in our continued success in attracting inward investment across all sectors, given our leadership role in that metric. The tourism sector has a huge role to play in presenting Scotland internationally in the most favourable light.

I recognise the comments from Willie Rennie and many other members across the chamber on medical exemptions. There has been a balance, with many members recognising that it is for local authorities to decide how to apply exemptions and that we should seek to devolve that responsibility as much as possible. However, with that responsibility comes an obligation to recognise many of the issues that members have raised. I give an undertaking that officials will work with VisitScotland to include references to medical exemptions in the guidance that will be produced for councils to support implementation of the bill.