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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 19 January 2025
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Displaying 4617 contributions

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Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

I will stick with Fergus Murray for this question. It is fascinating to hear that Argyll and Bute has more visitors than residents. One of the things that have come up in our discussion so far is that this is really an accommodation levy rather than a business levy, as many visitors such as day trippers, wild campers and some motorhome drivers will not be paying anything. I am interested in your views on those provisions.

Do you think that the bill could be amended to capture visitors who do not pay for accommodation but clearly have an impact on the areas that they visit? We heard yesterday that cruise ship passengers will be included in the bill now, if possible, which is an interesting development. Do you have any thoughts about how we could include day trippers, wild campers and motorhome drivers coming to Argyll and Bute?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

Thanks very much. We will continue on the theme that Bill Lobban introduced about how the levy revenues will be raised.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

Thank you very much. I call Willie Coffey.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

That is interesting. We are certainly unearthing a lot of variability.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

That was helpful. Willie Coffey wants to come in with a supplementary.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

Thanks for defining your roles here today. I have a follow-up question that might draw that out. Documents accompanying the bill suggest that the introduction of tourist taxes in a number of cities across Europe has not led to reductions in tourist numbers. I would be interested to hear if you agree with that analysis. Are you aware of any research or examples showing that the introduction of tourist taxes has had a negative economic impact?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

For our second panel, we are joined in the room by Tim Fairhurst, director general, and Simon Smith, policy manager, of the European Tourism Association—ETOA. I welcome you both to our meeting. I will start the questions. There is no need for you to operate the microphones; we do that for you.

It is great that you are here to share your perspectives. I would be interested to hear from you what is going on with tourist taxes across Europe. What are examples of tourist taxes across Europe and which ones have been less successful? What are the factors that lead to some being successful and others less so?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

I will just stop you there, Tim. We have quite a few questions to get through, and I think you have given us a sufficient response to Willie Coffey’s question on wild camping.

Do you have another question, Willie?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

I have a couple of questions. Why did Amsterdam have the percentage and the cap? On star ratings, would bed and breakfasts and short-term lets have to become part of a star rating system?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 31 October 2023

Ariane Burgess

Thank you. That concludes our questions. It has been very helpful to have your insights of what is going on in Europe, so thanks so much for your evidence today.