SNP planning tax on cruise ships
Cruise ships could be taxed for docking in Scottish ports under proposals floated by the SNP-led government.
The levy – which would be the first of its kind in the UK – is being considered amid evidence that more cruises and passengers are visiting Scotland than ever before.
Ministers have ruled out a compulsory blanket tax, but said legislation could be passed that would give councils discretionary power to impose a cruise ship levy.
A consultation paper by the Scottish government argues that cruise ships bring economic benefits to places such as Invergordon, Orkney, Edinburgh, Lerwick in Shetland, and Greenock.
It also warns that they bring 'pressures' to some coastal and island communities which, though not spelled out in the paper, typically include concerns around overcrowding, strain on local infrastructure and potential environmental damage.
Launching the consultation on Thursday, the Scottish government said: 'We are aware that a cruise ship levy in Scotland would be [the] first such levy in the United Kingdom, and we will need to carefully consider market implications and the effect on local economies and communities of such a levy.'
Orkney Islands Council already backs the idea in principle after hearing that a £5 levy on passengers could raise £1 million a year. It is also supported by the Scottish Greens.
Ariane Burgess, the party's local government spokesperson, said: 'Cruise ships are one of the dirtiest and most polluting forms of travel, and it is right that we tax them.'
She added that a levy 'is an important step for our climate and for local government [and] will make a big difference for port communities across Scotland, from Ullapool to Greenock, Kirkwall to Edinburgh, Stornoway to Rosyth.
'The tourism that these ships bring can have a lot of benefits, but we also know that it can put a lot of pressure on the local environment, infrastructure and services.'
The SNP said the idea of a cruise ship tax was first raised during work to explore levies for tourists in 2019.
It did not feature in the Visitor Levy Act passed by the Scottish parliament last year – which allows a tax to be charged on certain overnight stays – but was discussed at four round-table events hosted by the Scottish government in Greenock, Inverness, Kirkwall, and Edinburgh.
The consultation paper states that the 'intention behind any cruise ship levy would be to have the levy apply to those ships that are carrying paying passengers, on a journey involving two or more nights on the ship, and which give the passengers the option to disembark from the vessel onto the Scottish mainland or a Scottish island.'
It said ferry services in Scotland and those visiting Scottish waters in private boats or yachts that are not carrying paying passengers would be excluded.
The paper explores how a levy might be calculated and suggests it could be based on the gross tonnage of a vessel, its total passenger capacity, the actual number of passengers on board when it moors at a port or on the number that disembark.
It highlights that there were about 1,000 cruise ship visits to Scottish ports in 2024, bringing 1.2 million passengers, up from 2019, when an estimated 893 cruise ship calls brought 817,000 passengers.
The paper states that cruise passengers make up about 2 per cent of the total number of overnight stays by visitors in Scotland but points out that some regions are more impacted than others. In 2018, 84 per cent of overnight visitors in Orkney, and 79 per cent of those in Shetland, were cruise ship passengers.
The busiest day identified at a single port in 2024 was in Invergordon, where 9,600 people were due to arrive on one day in September.
Shona Robison, Scotland's finance secretary, added: 'The tourism sector is a crucially important part of the Scottish economy and cruise visits are increasing.
'The consultation will help to inform the Scottish Government's decision over whether or not to bring forward legislation and it is really important that we hear from a wide variety of voices on this matter.
'Last year, we held events to hear the views of the cruise ship industry, local government, and others. We want to continue the helpful dialogue which started at those events, and explore further what a cruise ship levy could mean in a Scottish context.'
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