Cruise ship levy will mitigate tourism pressures and support infrastructure

The Highland Council has issued its support to a Scottish Government proposal to give local authorities the power to create a cruise ship levy in the area.

A meeting of the council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday (29 May) heard that such a levy could provide additional funds to mitigate the impacts of tourism and ensure the area remains a world leading and sustainable tourism destination.

Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans, said: “As agreed at today’s E&I Committee, The Highland Council supports the introduction of discretionary powers for local authorities to implement a cruise ship levy, recognising its potential to generate recurring revenue to mitigate tourism-related pressures and sustain local infrastructure.

“Such a levy would empower communities to reinvest in services and help develop the Highlands as a world-class, sustainable destination all at no cost to Highland Council taxpayers, something everyone across our communities will welcome.

“Should such powers be granted, the Council will then undertake further extensive analysis and engagement to inform future decision-making.”

While the growth of the cruise ship sector has been welcomed and contributed to the economy, as with all visitors, cruise ship passengers can place significant pressure on local infrastructure and services.

The Scottish Government has undertaken a public consultation to seek views on a proposal to provide local authorities with discretionary powers to implement a levy on cruise ships.

The primary aim of a cruise ship levy is to ensure that local authorities experiencing pressures from the industry have additional funds to address these pressures and help contribute towards a thriving and sustainable tourism sector.

If implemented, such powers would be the first in the UK although cruise ship levies are already in place internationally, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice.

Members agreed that any levy should be based on the number of passengers per ship, and cruise ship operators would be the most suitably placed to collect the levy from passengers for remitting to the local authority.

The committee said local authorities should decide the rate of any levy, with revenue raised retained and used strategically within that same area. This would enable funds to be dispersed where visitors visit within the implementing local authority area and improve the wider tourist experience.

The Scottish Government’s consultation also proposes that local authorities with islands be given the power to charge a levy on those arriving to visit an island, regardless of the means of transport by which they arrived.

In response, The Highland Council has strongly encouraged the Scottish Government to not focus solely on islands and instead to introduce a point of entry levy for all of Scotland, enabling all Scottish local authorities to exercise their discretion to introduce a Point of Entry levy within their geographical boundaries.

In addition to responding to the Scottish ‘Government’s consultation, The Highland Council is preparing a proposition based on a means of having the ability to charge at points of entry into the Highlands, which will go some way to address the impacts of motorhomes and campervans.

The Scottish Government’s consultation closes on 30th May 2025.

• In 2023 passenger numbers to Highland ports reached almost 300,000 and the gross tonnage of cruise vessels hit the 10,000,000 GT mark.
• Within Highland there are 16 ports and harbours with cruise ship activities. These range in type, size and capacity from the Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergordon, which is a trust port and the busiest cruise ship port in Scotland, to Shieldaig which is a rural municipal harbour accommodating only one or two small cruise ships each year.
• Scottish Government research indicates that although highly seasonal, significant increases in passenger numbers demonstrate the cruise ship sector is growing three times faster than the rest of the tourism sector.
• In 2019, 893 cruise ships docked in Scottish ports, carrying 817,000 passengers and by 2024 this had increased to 1,000 cruise ships carrying 1.2 million passengers with the busiest day seeing 9,600 visitors arrive in the Port of Invergordon.
• Existing levy rates across European ports range from approximately €3-14 per passenger
• In 2019 The Highland Council engaged in a public visitor levy consultation, the outcome of which resulted in a decision to support ‘in principle’ the introduction of a visitor levy.
• The consultation found that nearly 70% of respondents believed that cruise ship passengers should be included in a Highland visitor levy, just behind those ‘Overnight Visitors staying in paid accommodation’ (74%) and ‘Motorhome Users (not staying at paid sites)’ (84%).