Local MSP Craig Hoy has written to Dumfries and Galloway Council Leader Stephen Thompson calling for an immediate pause to a consultation on a proposed tourist tax for the region.
Mr Hoy, who is also his party’s candidate for the Holyrood election next year, says he is “steadfastly opposed to the introduction of an SNP tourist tax in Dumfriesshire.”
The Council is presently probing whether to introduce a visitor levy and will review the findings before deciding whether to move forward with a formal plan.
Visitor levies are implemented by individual council areas, and the local plan has been described by Mr Hoy as a “deeply damaging tax” on visitors to Dumfries and Galloway.
Mr Hoy warns that the percentage-based levy would result in the displacement of tourists and loss of revenue from Dumfries and Galloway to other council areas in Scotland and to areas south of the border in England where no levy exists.
Supporters of a tourist tax say it mitigates the effects of over-tourism, but Mr Hoy says it is clear from discussions with local hoteliers and accommodation providers that no such problem exists in Dumfries and Galloway. This week he will convene a roundtable of industry figures to hear firsthand their concerns.
Mr Hoy adds: “There is no issue of over-tourism locally. Local businesses are still actively seeking to increase occupancy rates and believe further charges will undermine efforts to attract tourists to the region.”
Mr Hoy has also warned Cllr Thomson that the SNP Government has recently signalled it may be willing to alter the basis on which any levy could be charged. Mr Hoy’s letter states: “This follows considerable unease about the ability of the industry to process a levy on a percentage rather than a flat fee basis.”
He also warns Cllr Thompson that he is concerned that Dumfries and Galloway Council is presently consulting on a levy “at the very same time as the Scottish Government is examining significant changes to the operation of the scheme”.
Speaking after sending the letter Mr Hoy said: “I am worried about the cumulative impact of another burden on hospitality operators in the Dumfries and Galloway region. The SNP government has already made it hard to run a tourism and hospitality related business in Scotland, and this visitor levy would be an unnecessary blow.
“Charging visitors to come to our region – and charging domestic visitors and business visitors – risks driving more people away than it raises in revenue. Local businesses are united in their opposition to this measure, and I will hear more from them during a hospitality roundtable I have planned.
“I want the council to drop its consultation, I look forward to hearing back from Cllr Thompson and hope he takes my genuine concerns and those of the industry seriously.”
