Published on : Wednesday, January 30, 2019
In other European countries, similar taxes have been introduced and city councillors are all set to introduce the levy.
Also, it is being considered at Scottish tourist hotspots like Edinburgh and Inverness.
Mr Martin is quite concern as hotel bosses are already feeling the pinch as a result of high levels of VAT, so the new tax, which could entail an extra pound per night at hotels, might compel tourists to look for alternatives.
“Tourism levies have been introduced around the world, and to be fair, it is not a huge disincentive to go to those places,” he said.
“However, in most of the places where they have been introduced, the VAT on the tourism industry is much lower than it is here.”
“The hoteliers feel they are over-taxed as it is, and it may be unfair on them to introduce a levy.”
“The burden of collecting the money would also have to go to the hotels. We don’t know what will happen with things like Airbnb, although we have had a commitment from the city council they will look at that.”