The voices of local businesses and residents will be a key part of considering any potential visitor levy scheme for Perth and Kinross. Councillor Eric Drysdale, Convener of our Economy and Infrastructure Committee explained: "The question to committee next week is not about whether or not to introduce a visitor levy scheme. It's about getting the support to start speaking to those most affected about what would need to be taken into consideration so that councillors can make an informed decision before committing to a local approach. "While visitors bring significant benefits to our local economy, there are also associated costs. The Council introduced the Visitor Rangers service because we recognised that investment was needed to support responsible tourism, and minimise the impact of visitors on our year-round residents. "With growing demands for critical services such as health and social care, supporting pupils with additional support needs, and tackling poverty, we have a duty to explore any opportunities for additional sources of income which can then be invested to support growing our visitor economy. That would then allow core funding to be focused on the services which are needed by the most vulnerable people in our communities." If approved by committee the early engagement process will last between 6 and 10 months. A full report from the feedback received, along with a draft Visitor Levy Scheme developed during the engagement, would then be presented to councillors in December 2025 to consider whether or not to proceed with introducing a scheme. If approved in December, a statutory consultation period of 12 weeks and then an 18-month implementation would follow. As a result, the earliest possible date for a scheme being introduced would be Summer 2027. The committee meeting agenda and report are available in full on our website at: https://lnkd.in/e_XBf_n3
A visitor levy is just a tax at the end of the day and we are sick of being taxed we need to look at the real issue of what’s causing the problems to the local services and we all know what that problem is.
Farming, tourism, agritourism & rural economy
2moIt's a balance. There are certainly major challenges around a Visitor Levy in Perth and Kinross, but there are opportunities which could benefit tourism in many ways. We would be wrong not to explore the possibilities, which is what this meeting is deciding.