Visitor Levies

John Lamont, the Member of Parliament for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, asked the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism, Chris Bryant, about the potential impact of visitor levies in Scotland and Wales on inbound UK tourism. Lamont expressed concern that imposing taxes on tourists would discourage people from visiting the Scottish Borders and Scotland, and that this would have a detrimental effect on many small, rural businesses that are already struggling to sustain themselves. He asked the Minister if the Government would undertake an impact study on the effect the tax would have on tourism, not just in Scotland but across the UK. In response, Chris Bryant acknowledged that responsibility for tourism levies is devolved, but stated that the UK Government wants to watch what happens in Scotland and Wales with close interest. He said that one of his main hopes is to increase the number of international visitors to the UK and ensure more visitors travel across the whole United Kingdom, not just to London and the south-east. Bryant then stated that the UK Government has no plans to introduce visitor levies at the moment, although there are potential benefits that might accrue to local communities if they could be got right. He also said that the idea of the UK Government investigating what the Scottish Government is doing would be completely wrong, as this is a matter for the Scottish Government to decide. Lamont followed up by expressing his concern about the impact the tax proposed by the Scottish Government will have on tourism in Scotland, and reiterated his request for the Government to undertake an impact study on the effect the tax will have on tourism across the UK. There were no other interventions by other Members of Parliament in this exchange.