Scottish tourism experts have warned over key aspects of the planned visitor levy, or tourist tax.
While many recognise potential benefits of a visitor levy, including infrastructure to manage tourists, there are still concerns around contentious points including the level of the tax and offsetting measures.
We spoke to experts in our exclusive Business HQ Monthly supplement Big Read covering tourism's toughest upcoming challenges.
Roland Smyth, head of the Scottish Hotels and Leisure Group at international law firm CMS, said: “Tourism is one of Scotland’s key economic sectors and Edinburgh is on the brink of becoming a truly global city, on a par with the likes of Paris, Los Angeles and Sydney.
“We should be wary of killing the golden goose in an increasingly international and competitive market. To grow the sector, a supportive regulatory environment is needed, with tax being a key part of that.
“International tourists visiting Scotland already face high levels of VAT and Air Passenger Duty.
“Where a tourist tax has been applied elsewhere in Europe, that has historically been in the context of lower levels of VAT on accommodation than we have in the UK.”
The Scottish Tourism Alliance has written to Tom Arthur asking that the next stage of the parliamentary process in making the proposal legislation be extended.
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Outgoing VisitScotland chief looks back on highs and lows
The chief executive of VisitScotland is poised to step down after an eventful tenure that began during the foot and mouth crisis and moved through the fallout from 9/11, the Icelandic ash cloud, avian flu and the coronavirus pandemic.
But for all the challenges the Scottish tourism industry has endured over the past two decades Malcolm Roughead, who will retire later this year, remains convinced of its ability to respond to even the toughest conditions. “Every year it feels like you are fighting something,” Mr Roughead said.
“But the positive side of that, I think, is you see just how resilient the industry is and how resilient people are. There’s a real sense of coming together in these crisis situations. The most recent was obviously Covid, when people went above and beyond just to help neighbours, colleagues, all of that.”
Read Scott Wright's story here
READ THE FULL BUSINESS HQ MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT HERE
Hunted Cow proves it's outstanding in its field
With its latest release featuring Godzilla and King Kong, Hunted Cow’s success shows the strength of rural Scottish games studios to be giant slayers...
Times have changed in the games industry, with small studios now capable of developing big – even blockbuster – titles. And when it comes to the behemoths of the monster universe, they don’t get much bigger than Godzilla and King Kong. Development of the game has been entrusted for the past two years to Hunted Cow, Scotland’s most northerly games studio employing 42 people in the coastal town of Elgin.
Read Kristy Dorsey's story here
Q&A
Jacqui McLaughlin, chief executive of workplace health risk technology specialist, Reactec
Read Ian McConnell's interview here
"We produce technology that allows real time monitoring of workers’ exposure to health and safety risks, with data analytics to help employers prevent degenerative and impactful health problems.
"It’s possible to measure many of the risks in the workplace that cause irreversible harm that accumulates over time, significantly impacting quality of life. This includes exposure to vibration that can lead to debilitating pain in the hands arms and back, exposure to noise that leads to hearing loss, and exposure to dust, which is a prime cause of lung disease."
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