'Visitor levy in Glasgow could grow city's tourism offer'

Glasgow Times

18-06-2025

If it gets the go-ahead, the visitor levy will increase the cost of an overnight stay in the city by a small percentage.
But in doing so it can raise millions of pounds, which will be reinvested in improving the Glasgow experience for visitors and residents alike.
We reckon that if we add 5% to an accommodation bill – that's an average of just under £5 per night – then we could raise around £16 million extra income annually.
Given the unprecedented pressures on public finances, that's a decent amount of money to help improve our city and its tourism offer.
Visitor levies are common across much of the world.
Cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Berlin, Hamburg and Paris have all introduced similar schemes in recent years and all have had an increase in visitor numbers.
Closer to home, after a few years of preparatory work, Edinburgh's visitor levy will come into force next summer.
So, there's an opportunity to learn from our colleagues across the M8 as their scheme is implemented.
And I know that most major cities south of the border are also exploring the introduction of visitor levies, so it's important that Glasgow isn't left behind.
As you would expect with something as significant as the introduction of new local taxation, the opinions expressed within the 1300-plus consultation responses were many and varied.
But what came through was a strong agreement that if we go ahead with Glasgow's visitor levy then it has the potential to grow the city's tourism offer, that we can use the extra finances to ensure our culture and events remain world class, and that the levy can support the promotion and visibility of our city across the world.
Ultimately all of this adds up to better supporting employment and opportunities in an extremely important sector of our economy.
If the paper which I'm taking to Thursday's City Administration Committee is accepted by colleagues, then Glasgow's visitor levy would be in place from the start of 2027, with the first finances collected by April of that year.
Councillors from across the political spectrum have long made the case for new powers that can help us better deliver for our communities and for our city.
Now that the Government has given us some of those powers, it's time we put them to good use.
The visitor levy is no silver bullet to our financial challenges.
But those financial challenges aren't going away any time soon.
And with the levy we can deliver for our visitors, our businesses and our communities without the onus falling on Glaswegians.
Child poverty remains the most acute challenge currently facing Glasgow.
If we're to meet these inequalities head-on then we need a collective effort across all levels of government in partnership with our colleagues in the Third Sector.
Of course, the UK Government has always had the powers and resources to make the biggest impact.
Scrapping the Two Child Cap, for example, would lift nearly half a million children across the UK out of poverty.
I'm delighted that colleagues in the Scottish Government will scrap the cap in early 2026.
And that alongside the Scottish Child Payment, we're making real inroads into tackling this scourge here in Scotland.
The council has its role to play and tomorrow I'll bring a paper to the City Administration Committee asking for approval to release £510,000 to support those families, households and communities who are most vulnerable to the effects of child poverty.
The money means we can continue to fund our pioneering financial inclusion officers who are based in schools across Glasgow.
These officers provide face-to-face advice on benefits and money to parents of school-age children, as well as guiding them to additional support via the new Glasgow Helps service.
And some of the resource will also fund a project that refers people in need to local social enterprise partners so they can access pre-loved clothing, including school uniforms.
It can be disheartening that here in 2025 we continue to have to confront the long-standing consequences of inequalities on our city.
But the SNP here in Glasgow and across Scotland will not shirk our responsibility in standing up for our poorest and most vulnerable.