Plans for a tourist tax in one of Britain’s most isolated regions have been scrapped by local politicians.
Shetland councillors have formally rejected proposals to introduce a visitor levy, opting instead to investigate alternative revenue-generating methods with the Scottish Government.
The decision was reached during Monday’s meeting of Shetland Islands Council’s policy and resources committee, after a feasibility study examined the proposed tourist charge.
Council leader Emma Macdonald expressed her opposition to the levy, declaring it “just isn’t the answer, and doesn’t make sense in our context”.
A report presented to councillors contended that the “risks outweigh the benefits”, emphasising worries about the administrative strain on accommodation providers and potential adverse impacts on visitor numbers, reports the Mirror.
Recent Scottish legislation has granted councils the power to impose a charge on overnight stays, offering them an extra income stream.
Comparable charges are already operating globally, including across numerous European cities.
The objective is to raise money to develop, support or maintain facilities and services chiefly utilised by tourists or business travellers.
Nevertheless, a report indicated that despite Shetland’s thriving tourism sector, if 30 per cent of visitors were exempt, a five per cent levy would probably generate less than £1 million over a decade. Earlier this year the councils in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles appointed a consultant to investigate the feasibility of a visitor levy scheme for each of the three areas.
Point of entry and cruise levies were considered to be “potentially be more favourable” as ways of generating revenue.
The Scottish Government recently consulted on the idea of a separate levy on the cruise ship sector, but no decisions have been made yet.
Macdonald said there was potentially merit in a point of entry or cruise ship levy, but said the visitor levy does not make sense for Shetland.
Deputy Gary Robinson spoke out against the visitor levy.
He said he felt the process had reached a “natural conclusion” and added that to him the levy seemed like something dreamt up to tackle visitor economy problems in Edinburgh.
The steep costs for tourists travelling to Shetland in the first place was also highlighted.
Robinson added that if First Minister John Swinney was enthusiastic about greater autonomy for Shetland then a good starting point would be allowing the local authority to make its own choices on income generation matters like the levy.
He also said the reality was that the recent hike in NorthLink ferry fares would itself likely raise more money than the levy would.
Meanwhile, North Isles representative Robert Thomson stated that he has received feedback from local businesses who are not supportive of the scheme.