Tourist tax ‘challenging’ for Argyll and Bute

A tourist tax in Argyll and Bute could be difficult to implement, the local authority has warned.

And Argyll and Bute Council has also suggested that should such a tax be implemented, revenue raised in one area of the authority could be spent in another.

The council’s views on a ‘tourist tax’ are contained in a draft response to the Scottish Government on the idea, currently the subject of a consultation exercise.

The response is due to be considered at a meeting of the council on Thursday.

While not declaring itself for or against the idea of a tourist tax, or ‘local discretionary transient visitor levy’ , the council’s draft response expresses some reservations on its practicality, especially on how it might be imposed on day visitors.

When asked how a visitor levy could be applied to day visitors to the area, response stated: “This could be challenging to achieve within the current policy environment.

“It is also challenging to envisage methods of implementation which do not have much of an administrative burden distinguishing between residents and visitors.

“In response to the national discussion Argyll and Bute Council officers raised the fact that a levy might be applied on certain modes of relevant transportation, which might be achievable in instances where people are limited by the choice of transport they can actively use, for example, ferry services to island or peninsula destinations at peak times.

“However, day visitors predominantly use cars to access destinations. Physical tolls and barriers are not preferable unless pressures are extreme. In many visitor locations there are car park charges being paid by visitors.

“Creating new touch points for collection of a visitor levy will likely be too costly and be an administrative burden.

“In some destinations internationally they intentionally limit access to parts of national parks by car despite there being a road network, providing access only through purchasing tickets on arranged bus services to manage the destination better.

“Some restrictions on access to places might be a positive step, as long as there is a managed solution available.

“The council is not sure that applying a levy to goods and services used by day visitors, such as food and taxi purchases, will result in positive outcomes.

“It might penalise local businesses and result in consumers changing their behaviours in ways which might exacerbate problems.”

The consultation, containing a total of 33 questions, also asks whether, in the event of a visitor levy being imposed by an authority on a specific area, the money raised should be spent in that area.

The council’s draft response to that question states: “Argyll and Bute Council believe that any spending decisions from revenue generation remain flexible with spending approvals by area to be made by the local authority.

“Local authorities are best placed to understand local requirements and are accountable to communities and stakeholders.”