‘This is not Edinburgh': South Ayrshire council set to abandon plans for visitor levy after pushback

Independent

21-06-2025

A local Scottish council is set to abandon its plans to introduce a tourist tax despite other towns and cities jumping at the chance to put a levy on visitors.
South Ayrshire Council, covering an area of western Scotland under Glasgow, is likely to drop plans to introduce a visitor levy after negative feedback at a public consultation.
The local authority proposed the plans to implement a visitor levy in the area on overnight stays to try and boost the economy.
Accommodation providers, groups representing tourism businesses and residents were asked to give their feedback during the 12-week consultation.
The plans received criticism from the public, with only 15 per cent of respondents supporting the proposal compared to 79 per cent against it.
The negativity towards the levy largely focused on doubts that Ayrshire was a popular enough location for the levy to work.
The area attracts people to its miles of stunning coastline, backed by a series of world-renowned golf courses, including the Trump-owned Turnberry course, and is home to attractions such as the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, which celebrates the life of Scotland's national poet.
One respondent said: 'I don't believe that Ayrshire is attractive enough as a destination to warrant a tourist tax /levy.
'I can see how this works in very popular places like Barcelona or Athens. If this was inevitable, I would look to delay it until [the] surrounding areas have introduced the tax.'
Another person said that the levy could even deter tourists from visiting the area.
'I think we need to encourage visitors rather than penalise them… This is not Edinburgh, where they have huge numbers of visitors... we need to make things more attractive to visitors and this sends completely the wrong message,' they said.
Meanwhile, the minority who support the tourist tax said that they hope it will 'generate income for the area and hopefully keep council tax lower for residents'.
It has been recommended that the plan be abandoned for two years, with the council agreeing with this during a meeting on Tuesday. Other councillors have 48 hours to object to this decision before it is finalised.
The local council says that the visitor economy is highly important to South Ayrshire and supports thousands of jobs in the area.
It said it wanted to investigate the visitor levy as an option to support services and infrastructure for both residents and tourists to enjoy.
It said it could raise £400,000 to £500,000 per year based on a five per cent visitor levy charge after administration costs are accounted for.
The visitor levy is not completely off the table for Ayrshire, but it will not be prioritised by the council until August 2027, when it will be reconsidered.
The Visitor Levy Act became law in September 2024, which allows councils in Scotland to tax overnight accommodation if they wish to do so.
The Highland Council and Glasgow City Council have established consultations on visitor levies in their area, while Edinburgh spearheaded the tax in January, when it voted to introduce a five per cent surcharge on overnight stays in the city.