Angus hotel boss says tourist tax 'wouldn't be good' for the area
Accommodation providers in Angus will be consulted on the idea of an overnight visitor levy
Last updated 13th Jun 2024
Angus Council officers will consult hotels and accommodation providers in the region on the possible introduction of an overnight visitor levy after councillors on the policy and resources committee gave the green light last week, Tuesday, 4th June, 2024.
General Manager of the Glen Clova Hotel, Mhairi Preston, believes the introduction of a tourist tax would be a "very negative thing for the industry as a whole."
Based on the Scottish Tourism Economic Activity Monitor, council officers estimate a levy of 1% could generate £336,90 while a levy of 3% could raise £1,010,700 annually for the local authority.
There are 24 hotels in the region but the levy could also be applied to B&B and Airbnb-style businesses.
What does the hotel industry think?
Mhairi Preston, general manager of the hotel, north of Kirriemuir, doesn't think an overnight visitor levy would work in Angus. She said: "I think, certainly in Angus, it's probably not a great idea.
"Unlike some of the main tourist attractions, like Edinburgh or St Andrews, that sort of thing, I think Angus is a beautiful place but it's not that well known for tourists. So, I think to put something else in the way, deterring tourists to come to us, wouldn't be a good thing for the Angus area. "
Despite this, she does think it could be a viable option in other areas across Scotland, saying: "There's a lot of people on the North Coast 500 route, almost complaining about the amount of tourists because it's taking away from the exclusivity and natural beauty, because there are too many tourists.
"Maybe putting it somewhere like that might be a good idea. Or somewhere like Edinburgh, because most of the people that come to see us they're always in Edinburgh. If you're coming from overseas they're generally coming into Edinburgh. They'll maybe come and see us and maybe go somewhere else, but, all of them will go to Edinburgh.
"So, perhaps maybe somewhere like Edinburgh or your bigger cities where they have huge, huge amounts of tourism, possibly.
"But, I think throughout Angus, we do have a reasonable amount of tourism, but nothing compared to those areas so I think it would possibly be good for them but I'm not in that area so I don't know if that's right or not."
She added: "For hotels in the Angus area, and certainly in our location, I don't think it's beneficial. Its not going to attract more people. It might attract less people.
"At the moment when we're trying to get the industry back to where it should be, levying another tax is just a negative."
"Something else would have to give"
Mhairi Preston believes the costs currently facing businesses and consumers are too high for the overnight visitor levy to be viable. She said: "Really over the past three to four years everything for a business like ourselves has been another increase.
"We have to pay more for goods and services. We have to pay more for fuel. We have to pay higher delivery charges, especially where we are. So we have delivery chargers that are a lot higher than it would be for your Edinburgh or your Glasgow, so I think something would have to give before we could say this might be a good idea.
"At the moment, certainly over the last three or four years, all the hotels like ourselves, it has just been more and more that we have to pay out. Whether that be on wages, that I completely get, because of the cost of living peoples wages do have to go up.
"Food and non-alcoholic drink costs have gone up 25% in the last two years so that's a huge amount to peoples take home income.
"With that, they're not going to be able to afford to go out as much, they won't come out to eat as much. They can't maybe just come out for just a quick night get away. So, I think, because of that something would have to give. Either the cost of living falling dramatically, in which case then maybe there is something to do with the tourist tax.
"But, I think at the moment, while things are just going up and up, I think it's a very negative thing for the industry as a whole."
The general manager is set to discuss the potential introduction of the tourist tax with council officers next week to find out their take on its possible introduction.
The council say an extensive consultation will take place with with representatives of communities, tourism organisations, businesses engaged in tourism and other persons likely to be affected. The local authority say they will work with stakeholders to develop options for how the proposed scheme might work and benefit the region of Angus.
Dates for the consultation are set to be announced in due course.
As per the Visitor Levy Scotland Bill, allowing local authorities to introduce the levy, any introduction of a tourist tax can only come into effect at least 18 months after the decision to implement such a scheme. This means the earliest a levy could be introduced is 2026.