Moray to develop tourist tax proposal

Moray Council is to bring in specialist support to develop proposals for a new tourist tax.

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 gives local authorities the power to charge a levy on visitors staying in overnight accommodation. The proceeds have to be used to develop or sustain facilities connected to tourism, such as car parks, paths and public toilets, or to help make town centres and parks more attractive.

Other councils across Scotland interested in introducing their own tourist tax are currently proposing to add between 4% and 7% to the cost of an overnight stay.

Kathleen Robertson, the leader of Moray Council, said: “While there is no decision within council to introduce a levy at the moment, the next step in the development of a visitor levy scheme for Moray is setting up a working group to oversee the development of the scheme proposal.

“While we don’t have the level of expertise in-house currently, we will bring that in to make sure any future scheme would work well and bring the most benefit to everyone in Moray.

“A future consultation will inform any decisions on whether or not to progress a visitor levy scheme in Moray.

“The earliest any levy would be in operation in Moray would be August 2027, so there will be plenty of opportunity over the next two years for locals, businesses and visitors to have their input considered for any scheme.”