Perth and Kinross to press ahead with tourist tax talks

Plans for a tourist tax in Perth and Kinross will be put to the public.

Councillors kick-started a 10-month consultation on the proposal this week.

It comes after Edinburgh became the first place in Scotland to approve the new “visitor levy”.

From next summer, the capital will charge visitors an extra 5% on top of their accommodation costs.

Edinburgh City Council hopes to raise around £50 million a year from the scheme.

Highland Council is also considering a tourist tax in the north.

And now Perth and Kinross Council could be next in line.

Members of the economy and infrastructure committee agreed to launch a consultation when they met on Wednesday.

Councillors raised a string of questions about how the new tax might work, and how it might boost or harm the area’s appeal to visitors.

One warned there was a risk of “killing off the golden goose” if the cost of stays in Perth and Kinross rises too far compared to neighbouring regions.

Tourists made 2.3 million visits to the area in 2023.

The trade supports more than 8,000 jobs in Perth and Kinross.

And it is worth an estimated £641m to the local economy.

Perth and Kinross starting tourist tax consultation with blank sheet

Consultants at the Moffat Centre have been commissioned to assess the likely income from a tourist tax in Perth and Kinross.

Supporters say the funding could be re-invested in the visitor economy.

It could also be used to offset existing costs to the council, such as the the Visitor Ranger Scheme, which works to reduce the impact of tourism on popular areas.

SNP councillor Eric Drysdale, convener of the economy and infrastructure committee, stressed the council is going into the process with an open mind.

And he said a 10-month consultation was the council’s best chance to “do all we can to get it right, and – if we do decide to do this – to shape the visitor levy in a way we want.”

The process for introducing a tourist tax is likely to take more than two years to complete.

So the earliest any scheme might come into effect in Perth and Kinross would be summer 2027.

It comes after the Scottish Government introduced new legislation giving local authorities the power to introduce their own visitor levies.