Under pressure from the tourist trade, Highland Council have kicked the Highland Visitor Levy into the long grass. This cowardly decision will deny millions of pounds of desperately needed investment and funding which could be spent on social housing and public services in the Highlands.
The Highlands is in the midst of a housing crisis. There are more than 8,000 people on the social housing waiting lists and thousands of others who have been forced to leave due to a lack of available private rental properties.Yet, in 2024, the Highlands saw approximately 1.79 million overnight tourist visits, generating an estimated £756m.
Tourism is a vital resource that needs to be used to better invest in our region. We cannot allow a few to make huge amounts of money from holiday lets whilst the majority of Highlanders suffer from a lack of housing.
We cannot wait for Highland Council to make a decision ‘down the line’, and delay us using this vital new source of funding.
Living Rent believes in a vibrant Highlands that welcomes visitors from around the world, but it cannot come at the expense of those that live and work here.
We demand that the Highland Council:
- Vote to implement the Visitor Levy immediately
- Start setting up the infrastructure in order to collect the visitor levy
- Invest money in social housing now for everyone that lives and works in the Highlands.
