Fife Council Considering a Tourist Tax

Fife Council is considering implementing a tourist tax after the Fife Council Cabinet Committee voted twenty to two in favour of a twelve-week statutory consultation period before an official decision on the tax can be made.

The Scottish Government website outlines that a “visitor levy, sometimes called a tourism tax, is a charge that local authorities can choose to apply to overnight accommodation [...] The aim of the levy is to generate additional funding for reinvesting in local facilities and services used by visitors, helping to support and enhance sustainable tourism and communities.”

Under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, "councils are required to consult with local businesses, tourism organisations and residents to ensure the scheme reflects local needs and priorities before introducing a levy.”

Ahead of Fife Council's Cabinet Committee meeting, St Andrews Councillor Robin Lawson was permitted to make a plea to councillors to cease work on the levy. 

According to Fife Today, Councillor Lawson pointed out that “St Andrews has 46 hotels with over 1,000 hotel rooms, which is almost 40% of the Fife total. It also has a couple of thousand beds in short term lets, so the visitor levy would be of great significance in St Andrews yet there is not one councillor selected to St Andrews on the Cabinet Committee.” Councillor Lawson noted that he was speaking on behalf of those who voiced concerns to him in person, as well as for BID St Andrews — St Andrews Town Centre Business Improvement District which represents 300 businesses.

Councillor Lawson added that businesses in Fife “are already hard pressed with increased rates, increased utility bills and employment costs.”

According to Fife Today, there are currently 4.8 million visitors to Fife, both in overnight and day visits, who generate £965 million. The money generated by tourism, mostly in St Andrews for golf, helps support 12,588 jobs. The visitor levy could impose a charge between £3 and £5 to stay in Fife for the night.

If Fife introduced the levy, they would not be the first in Scotland, as the City of Edinburgh Council already introduced a tourist tax with their own specific parameters. The Edinburgh Visitor levy is an additional 5% payment on the cost of paid overnight accommodation, which is only charged on the first five nights’ stay.

According to Fife Today, Economics advisor Linn Williamson stressed to councillors that they were not being asked to make a decision on whether or not to introduce a levy. Williamson explained: “Today’s decision is not to introduce a visitor levy but to consult on a proposed scheme to provide stakeholders with further opportunity to express views and help shape development of any further decisions to be decided by the Cabinet Committee in 2027.”

Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay Councillor Dave Dempsey put forward a motion to throw out the plans completely. Councillor Altany Craik, however, moved that the scheme progress to consultation so that they can gain more information.

According to Craik, “The issue at this stage is we don't know the detail[s] of what [the levy] is offering and how we can make it work better and how it would benefit people who live in Fife.”

Craik added: “If we just decide now that we will not bother, we could end up in a space [where] we don't know if we have missed an opportunity to make a more resilient, better tourism opportunity [...] because we have said no too early.”

Image Courtesy of Alden Arnold