Home

Visitor Levy Member Information Page

This page is our member resource for all the latest news, updates, and key information about the introduction of the visitor levy. We are actively collaborating with industry partners, associations, and BIDs, and participating in all relevant industry meetings and forums to stay informed about the process. This will enable us to keep you informed about the ongoing process, important developments, and upcoming events related to the scheme.

What You’ll Find Here:

Key Updates: Regular announcements and progress reports.
Event Calendar: Details of workshops, consultations, and other opportunities to get involved.
Documents & Resources: Access to guides, FAQs, and policy information.
Contact & Feedback: Where to submit your feedback about the levy

We’re committed to maintaining clear and open communication as this process unfolds. Please check back regularly to stay informed and ensure your voice is heard and shapes this important initiative.

Your Voice Matters – Help Shape the Future of Tourism in the Highlands

Highland Council is continuing to develop proposals for a potential Visitor Levy, with a formal statutory consultation expected later this year. Before that consultation begins, there is an important opportunity for the tourism industry to influence how any future scheme is designed.

As your Tourism Business Improvement District, Visit Inverness Loch Ness is committed to ensuring that the views of our members are represented with robust, evidence-based insight. To support this, we have launched our own member consultation to understand what businesses want Highland Council to consider before final proposals are published.

The findings will form the basis of Visit Inverness Loch Ness' formal submissions to Highland Council and will strengthen our advocacy through the ongoing Visitor Levy roundtable discussions. This is your opportunity to influence the issues that matter most - from business impacts and administration to governance, investment priorities and the future of tourism funding across the Highlands.

The survey takes just 10-15 minutes to complete, but the evidence gathered will help ensure that decisions are informed by the experiences of those who live, work and invest in our visitor economy. Whether your views are supportive, opposed or somewhere in between, we encourage every tourism business to take part.

June 2026 Update

Highland Council has now agreed the next steps in developing a potential Visitor Levy Scheme for the Highlands. At its meeting on 25 June, Members agreed that officers should continue developing a draft scheme for further consideration later this year.

Importantly, no final decision has been made to introduce a Visitor Levy. Before any scheme could be implemented, Highland Council must publish detailed proposals and undertake a formal statutory consultation, providing businesses, communities and visitors with the opportunity to comment on the draft scheme.

This next stage is particularly important, as it will provide much greater detail on how any proposed levy could operate, including the charging model, governance arrangements, proposed investment priorities and how funds would be reinvested to support the visitor economy and local communities.

Visit Inverness Loch Ness will be launching its own member consultation alongside Highland Council's formal consultation to ensure the views of businesses across Inverness Loch Ness are fully represented. We will share further information, consultation dates and opportunities to participate through our newsletters and member communications as soon as the draft scheme and consultation timetable are confirmed.

In the meantime, if you have views on the Visitor Levy, whether supportive, opposed or somewhere in between, we would welcome the opportunity to hear directly from you. This is an important opportunity for businesses to help shape the conversation and ensure that decisions are informed by the realities of operating tourism businesses and living within our communities.

If you would like to arrange a conversation to discuss the proposals and what they could mean for your business, please get in touch directly to our CEO, Ellen, and we can arrange a time to meet.

Your feedback will play a vital role in helping Visit Inverness Loch Ness develop an evidence-based position and ensure that the collective voice of our members is heard throughout the consultation process.

What Happens Next?

The indicative timetable is now expected to be:

Summer 2026 Highland Council officers continue developing a draft Visitor Levy Scheme.
Autumn 2026 Draft scheme presented to Members for approval to begin formal consultation.
Late 2026 Statutory public consultation, during which Visit Inverness Loch Ness will undertake its own parallel member consultation and engagement programme.
Following consultation Highland Council will consider responses before making any final decision on whether to introduce a Visitor Levy.
If approved, legislation requires a minimum 18-month implementation period, meaning any Visitor Levy in Highland is unlikely to come into effect before 2028.

Previous updates

March 2026 Update

The Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill has now been passed by the Scottish Parliament on 24 March 2026, introducing significant new flexibility to the existing Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 framework. Local authorities, including Highland Council, can now implement either a percentage-based levy or a flat-rate charge on overnight accommodation, with additional scope to vary rates by location, season, or accommodation type.

Highland Council had previously paused development of its Visitor Levy scheme pending this legislative change. With the amendment now approved, the Council is expected to resume work on a revised proposal. This is likely to include consideration of a flat-rate model, reflecting stakeholder feedback gathered during the 2024–2025 consultation process.

The next steps are anticipated to include publication of an updated scheme, a further period of public consultation (approximately 12 weeks), and a formal Council decision. Based on standard implementation timelines, any Visitor Levy in the Highland area is unlikely to be introduced before late 2027 at the earliest.

In summary, while no levy is currently in place, the removal of the legislative constraint represents a key milestone. Progress toward implementation is now expected to accelerate, with increased likelihood of a more flexible and locally tailored levy structure.

Visitor Levy Amendment Bill

2025 previous news on the levy

The Highland council are proposing a levy of 5% on overnight accommodation with the following three objectives:

Sustain public services and infrastructure used by businesses, communities, and visitors to ensure the impacts of visitors are strategically and sustainably managed
Support the delivery of a thriving tourism sector that can offer a wide range of visitor experiences by working together in partnership with businesses, visitors, and communities
Develop innovative approaches to balance strategic demands and opportunities, ensuring the council achieves its full potential as a highly positioned destination for visitors

Industry Statements and Positions

Highland BIDs Collective

Highland BIDs—representing VILN, Inverness City BID, Nairn BID, Dornoch BID, and BID Fort William—speak for over 2,000 businesses across the Highlands.

Collectively gathered up to date member input to gain further insights on the proposed Visitor Levy for Highland. The feedback was presented to the Highland Council in joint response and you can view it below alongside the survey responses.

Scottish Tourism Alliance

View the updated Visitor Levy Policy Position here.
- The STA has updated its official Visitor Levy Policy Position, in light of the difficult economic climate and the emerging complexity of the current percentage charging model.
- It states that looking to adopt a levy scheme at this time would be damaging to the essential tourism and hospitality businesses that local economies rely on to support jobs and attract visitors, along with overall competitiveness.

Joint Highland Chambers

View the position statement here.
- Headline: Collectively we believe that implementing a visitor levy at this time would have significant negative consequences for tourism in the Highlands, which is already facing numerous challenges.

•    Highland Council Consultation Portal
•    Highland Council Visitor Levy FAQs
•    Visit Scotland’s Overview

Visit Inverness Loch Ness Levy Event

On Wednesday 15th January 2025, we held an information forum event at Eden Court, Inverness.

The Highland Council, Inverness Chamber and Highland Hotels Association all spoke and a statement was read from the Scottish Tourism Alliance. A Q&A followed the speakers.

The event was recorded and you can watch it in full on our YouTube page.

Contact Your Councillors / MP & MSP's About The Proposed Levy

During the Visit Inverness Loch Ness information event, attending councillors encouraged businesses to share how the proposed levy, in its current form, will impact them.

These councillors will play a crucial role in shaping the final decision, which will be made at a full council meeting in June.

To help, we've provided a useful list of councillor contacts below. If you're unsure of your ward, you can check which ward you're in HERE.

Regional MSPs for Highlands & Islands

Victor Currie	MSP	Reform UK	Highlands and Islands	Email
Max Bannerman	MSP	Reform UK	Highlands and Islands	Email
Ariane Burgess	MSP	Scottish Green Party	Highlands and Islands	Email
Kristopher Leask	MSP	Scottish Green Party	Highlands and Islands	Email
Morven-May MacCallum	MSP	Scottish Liberal Democrats	Highlands and Islands	Email
Maree Todd	MSP	Scottish National Partty	Highlands and Islands	Email
Tim Eagle	MSP	Scottish Conservative & Unionist	Highlands and Islands	Email

Visitor Levy Member Information Page

Your Voice Matters – Help Shape the Future of Tourism in the Highlands

June 2026 Update

Previous updates

March 2026 Update

2025 previous news on the levy

Industry Statements and Positions

Visit Inverness Loch Ness Levy Event

Contact Your Councillors / MP & MSP's About The Proposed Levy

Inverness Ness-side

Inverness Millburn

Culloden & Ardersier

Inverness South

Black Isle

Aird & Loch Ness

Nairn & Cawdor

Regional MSPs for Highlands & Islands