Plans for a so-called “tourist tax” on visitors to Fife would need far more work before ever coming to fruition, it was has been claimed.
The controversial idea has been floated already on the other side of the Forth, with suggestions that tourists in Edinburgh could pay an extra levy on top of their hotel room rate to help raise £15 million of extra revenue.
The plans, which could cost visitors to the capital as much as £4 per night, have been mooted as part of discussions surrounding the proposed £1 billion City Deal, with ministers understood to support the principle of devolving powers to the capital, including the ability to set and collect a visitor levy.
But in Fife business and tourism leaders have distanced themselves from the idea of bringing in a similar levy on visitors, stressing that the City Deal has not even been ratified yet, let alone the finer details.
Fife is one of six local authorities involved in City Deal talks, alongside Edinburgh, the three Lothian councils and the Scottish Borders.
Eric Byiers, chief executive of Fife Chamber of Commerce, said its members would have to scrutinise any plans for a visitor levy that came forward carefully, but hinted that the proposal in its current form left more questions than answers.
“I think it’s an interesting proposal but the chamber believes there needs to be considerably more work done on it, both in terms of the principle of it and what the money raised would be used for, and in terms of the difference in the tourism market between Edinburgh and Fife, and indeed the differences across Fife,” he said.
“Tourism is an extremely important sector for the Fife economy and we would not want to see anything that might damage that and damage future growth.”
If Edinburgh goes ahead with the idea, it will become the first British destination to bring in a hotel or tourist tax.
Several European cities have taxes on visitors, with Paris charging 15p to £1.15 per person per day when they stay in hotels, apartments, furnished accommodation and campsites.
And since 2014, visitors to Berlin have been charged 5% of their hotel room rate per day.
Edinburgh Cultural Venues (ECV), a grouping of eight of the city’s most prominent attractions, has become the latest to add its support to the idea of a city visitor levy, although the Scottish Tourism Alliance has voiced its concern.
But the ECV argued that significant budget cuts on top of many years of standstill funding had provided venues with a significant challenge.
The City Deal idea involves a £1bn infrastructure fund to invest in areas such as transport, housing, economic regeneration, energy and digital connectivity.