Plans to introduce a 5 per cent visitor levy in Stirling have met significant opposition from local businesses, with two thirds of respondents to a council consultation expressing their disapproval ahead of a formal debate later this week.
Stirling Council is set to consider proposals on Thursday which would see overnight guests charged a surcharge on their accommodation. The initiative, commonly referred to as a “tourist tax”, is designed to raise funds for the local area, but business leaders have raised concerns about the potential impact on the city’s visitor economy.
According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), 64 per cent of the 115 local businesses and tourism organisations that took part in the consultation said they were against the levy.
Hisashi Kuboyama, development manager at FSB Scotland, said: “Local businesses have made it clear that they don’t want a visitor levy in Stirling. Stirling’s visitor economy is recovering well from the Covid pandemic, but it would be naive to assume this will always be the case.”
He continued: “With the declining demand from the UK domestic tourism market and the global geopolitical uncertainty, businesses in Stirling are concerned that increasing costs for visitors could deter tourists and harm the local economy. That is particularly true when the UK is already an expensive destination compared to most other European countries, and Stirling is seen by many visitors as offering less value for money than other parts of Scotland.”
The proposed levy would be among the highest in Europe, with only a few nations such as Germany and the Netherlands applying a comparable rate. FSB Scotland’s response to the consultation cited a recent Welsh Government impact assessment, which suggested a visitor levy could reduce tourist numbers by up to 2.5 per cent and lead to a decline in spending of as much as £35 million annually.
“A visitor levy can be a power for good, delivering real benefits for local businesses and economies, but its implementation must be fair, proportionate and carefully considered,” added Kuboyama.
“What works in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Barcelona or Paris is not necessarily going to work in Stirling. We are asking the council to listen to the concerns of local businesses and put their plans on hold until they are in a better position to understand all the risks as well as the potential rewards.”
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