Cruise ship tax: ‘We should be grateful for extra income, not charging more’
Letters to the Editor
The Scottish Government is seeking views on the practicalities and implications of such a levy, which would give local authorities the optional power to introduce a tax on cruise ships that visit their area. This could include the likes of Invergordon and Ullapool, among other Highland locations.
Ross-shire Journal readers took to social media to share their thoughts.
George Carson said: “A ridiculous idea. These towns should be grateful for the extra income raised by guests not charging extra!
“The facilities should already be in place and we should be welcoming our visitors like true Scots. The fact that our roads are in a mess, our streets are dirty and bins overflowing is down to mismanagement by our local authorities. We cannot blame or charge day visitors for a service that we are already paying for, but the local authorities are choosing to ignore.”
Janette McCutcheon commented: “Scotland would just be the latest place to bring in the cruise ship tax. Cruise companies are used to countries charging it.
“This tax should be used for improving infrastructure for everyone, not just the cruise tourists, helping communities to improve their tourism product, increasing all types of tourism spend and facilities to improve life for the locals in that area. Same as what should happen with the visitor levy. Do I trust HC to do it properly? No. Therefore causing more resentment within communities who see no benefit. Understanding cruise tourism to help communities is a very specialist area of tourism that HC doesn’t understand.
“If done right, cruise tourism can be an added bonus. It should never be relied upon. Done badly, it can cause severe resentment and a backlash from communities. Scotland isn’t the only country in the world to have these issues and it won’t be the last.”
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh councillor, Liz Kraft explained: “Many folk have questioned why cruise ships and camper vans are not included in the current visitor levy out to consultation.
“The current legislation from the Scottish Government does not enable us to address this at present. However there are ongoing discussions with The Highland Council, COSLA and Scotgov to look at how we address both of these potential income streams.
“Good to see progress on consultation around a Cruise Ship Levy.”
