Marc Crothall, CEO of Scottish Tourism Alliance, provided evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee today as part of the committee’s pre-Budget scrutiny.
In his evidence, he highlighted the following relevant points:
- The ASSC’s proposals to pause short-term let licensing as part of the Scottish Government’s review into regulations which could be reviewed in light of the cost crisis (emphasised it was merely a pause, not taking regs off the table).
- On STL licensing more broadly, he referred to concerns about the ability of local councils to deliver on the policy (highlighted only 19 councils had established their scheme by the 1st October deadline), as well as the large disparity in fees charged to operators between local authorities and cited Orkney and Edinburgh as two ends of the scale.
- Highlighted evidence from the ASSC of businesses choosing to not trade.
- Finally, he also mentioned the concerns from industry around the introduction of a tourist levy following the announcement in the Programme for Government.
The recorded coverage can be accessed here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/economy-and-fair-work-committee-part-ii-october-5-2022