Fife Council agrees to consult on a visitor levy for the Kingdom

Fife Council has agreed to investigate the possibility of introducing a visitor levy for Fife and will consult with communities and businesses over the next few months.

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 allows local councils to charge a percentage rate on accommodation within the scheme’s area. There is flexibility over whether the charge applies to all or part of the local council area, whether
it is charged for all or part of the year and can change depending on the purpose of the visit.

Early research shows that a visitor levy scheme charging 5% (in line with City of Edinburgh Council) could generate between £3.4m and £8.2m each year.

Now councillors have agreed that a thorough early engagement consultation exercise should take place over the coming months to make sure any future decisions on the issue are informed.

Council Leader David Ross explained: "Tourism is an important industry for the Kingdom.  There are very mixed views on the introduction of a visitor levy.

"There's also lots to learn from others who have already introduced these schemes. So we will be taking the time to make sure we gather all the views and have all the facts and evidence in front of us before we make any decisions on this."

No decision on the introduction of a visitor levy would be taken before August 2026 at the earliest.