Local MSP and Dumfriesshire Conservative candidate Craig Hoy has urged the Scottish Government to pause its plans for the controversial tourist tax as Dumfries and Galloway Council consults on its plans.
Speaking in a Holyrood session, Mr Hoy warned that many local business owners believe the levy would be “devastating” for the hospitality sector.
Mr Hoy’s intervention came after Matthew Wallace, who owns the Cairndale Hotel and Spa, spoke out against the levy following confirmation of a consultation by Dumfries and Galloway Council into its plans to apply the tax.
Quoting Mr Wallace in the Holyrood chamber, Mr Hoy said: “The minister should be ashamed about the chaos into which the SNP's tourist tax has descended. Across Scotland, councils are presently consulting on the visitor levy, and some are at the point of introducing it, and now huge uncertainty hangs over them. Dumfries and Galloway Council is presently consulting on their plans and local hotelier Matthew Wallace, who runs the Cairndale Hotel and Spa in Dumfries, says that there is ‘no overtourism problem in the region’ and he adds ‘this levy is just a further increase in taxation and makes our region needlessly more expensive.”
The move comes amid a partial U-turn by Scottish ministers, who have now said they will look at the possibility of amending the legislation to allow for a flat fee to be levied rather than a percentage-based tax on hotel and B&B accommodation.
Mr Hoy added: “Will the Minister now join me in urging the Scottish Government to pause the implementation of the levy until it listens to the very real concerns of businesses in Dumfriesshire and fixes the problem that this government has created.”
Speaking after the question session at Holyrood, Mr Hoy said: “I have today called on the Scottish Government to pause the implementation of its tourist tax until it has completed a full and proper consultation on concerns raised by business. Businesses across Dumfriesshire are worried about the impact of this tax, and the SNP need to act before doing immeasurable harm to the industry.
“I will continue working with local business owners and the council to make sure this harmful levy is delayed for as long as possible to protect tourism in Dumfriesshire.”
In the coming weeks, Mr Hoy plans to convene a roundtable session with local tourism and hospitality sector operators to assess what more can be done to support the sector across Dumfriesshire.
ENDS
Notes: Speaking to the BBC, Cairndale Hotel owner Matthew Wallace warned against claims there was an overtourism problem in Dumfries and Galloway stating that the proposed levy is “just a further increase in taxation and makes our region needlessly more expensive”. He said: “The cost of accommodation across the board will increase and Dumfries and Galloway becomes a more expensive destination to visit. DGC should be directing efforts to encourage growth in tourism, not introduce a tax that, from recent social media posts, nobody would seem to support”
