Duror & KentallenNews

The public consultation survey is now open and will close at the end of November. Here are the details from the Highland Council website. You can have your say by clicking here.

Background

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 28 May 2024 and received Royal Assent on 5 July 2024. This Act gives local authorities discretionary powers to introduce a visitor levy in their area, for visitors staying in overnight accommodation.

In March 2026, the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2026 Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament and received Royal Assent on 21 May 2026. This introduced additional flexibility, enabling local authorities to apply fixed amount(s) per room/area, per night; a tiered fixed-amount per room/area, per night; in addition to a percentage-based levy.

To accompany the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, Guidance on the Visitor Levy for Local Authorities has been published. This statutory guidance was prepared by an Expert Group of stakeholders led by VisitScotland to assist local authorities and others with an interest in a Visitor Levy Scheme and has been updated regularly. A Frequently Asked Questions document has also been prepared by VisitScotland and the Expert Group to inform and assist business owners in local authorities where a Visitor Levy Scheme is being implemented.

The Guidance states that when developing an outline for a potential Visitor Levy Scheme, local authorities should be able to draw a clear link to the objectives of its local tourism strategy and other related strategies. This ensures that any scheme objectives link to wider strategic thinking on the visitor economy, and how any net proceeds raised could best sustain, support and develop facilities or services substantially used for or used by persons visiting the scheme area for leisure or business purposes. We approved the Sustainable Tourism Strategy on 14 November 2024, which also aligns with the National Tourism Strategy.

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 outlines the legislative framework for local authorities to consider introducing a Visitor Levy Scheme. Local authorities must prepare and publish:

• an outline of the proposed scheme
• a statement about the cases and circumstances under the proposal in which the levy is not payable or may be reimbursed
• a statement about the objectives of the proposal, including how the local authority intends to measure and report on the achievement of those objectives
• an assessment of the impacts of the proposal

Engagement Events

A series of engagement events to support the statutory public consultation on the Council’s proposed Visitor Levy Scheme will include both online and in-person meetings reaching across all areas of Highland.

Formal and informal approaches will be scheduled over a variety of time slots to reach as many people as possible, utilising a combination of webinars, drop-in sessions and in-person events.

Events will be added as venues and dates are confirmed.

Requesting Paper Copies of the Consultation Survey

Those individuals who are unable to fill out a consultation survey online may ask in-person to have one printed at their local Highland library or service point. Alternatively, paper forms may also be requested by calling 01349 781020 or emailing visitorlevyconsultation@highland.gov.uk.

Completed paper forms will either need to be returned to a service point or posted by mail to the address on the front of the form in advance of the deadline.

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