Holyrood dismisses a tourism tax but what is the alternative?

Published on Monday 21 July 2008 22:13

THE news that the Scottish Parliament's economy, energy and tourism committee has rejected the idea of a transient tourism levy is disappointing. Not just because the idea is dismissed out of hand, prior to the results of consultation within the tourism sector, but also because no practical alternatives were offered to find a solution for securing greater investment in destination promotion and support for visitor services.

I was also a little surprised that a Lothians list MSP could not support the continued work on the suitability of a tourism tax that has been a successful means of generating income in cities as diverse as Vancouver, Paris and Vienna. So once again Edinburgh's council taxpayers will have to take the biggest responsibility in funding services that will directly benefit the tourism sector.

Nationally, a target has been set to increase tourism across Scotland by 50 per cent by 2015. As the attack brand for Scotland, Edinburgh must lead by example to ensure that this target is realised.

The capital city's assets are powerful: we are revered globally for our huge variety of festivals and events; we have a reputation as a leading light in research and development and Edinburgh is also rated as one of the top five European cities for financial services.

Edinburgh has won shelf-loads of accolades in recent years, including the recent title of "Best Small City in Europe" from the Financial Times magazine, FDI.

Our competitors are, quite rightly, taking notice. But now is not the time to sit back and bathe in our success. In fact, the opposite must happen and we must act now to ensure that we not only retain our place in world rankings, but that we also better them and enable the city to continue to grow and prosper. We're now working with public and private agencies across the capital to drive this forward under the Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance banner.

There's a lot of work being done behind the scenes before we have a deliverable, unified city promotion proposition. The Inspiring Capital Brand, with its focus on Live, Invest, Visit and Study in Edinburgh will continue to be central to spreading the message far and wide.

We're not looking to reinvent the wheel with this venture, but to provide a consistent approach to marketing our city to the wider world. For Edinburgh to survive and prosper against our rivals, we must look to move forward and this way has proved successful in many other cities. Just look at the success Glasgow has had with promoting itself as Scotland with Style.

We are also not looking to knock the work undertaken by VisitScotland, but to work in partnership with the tourism agency and ensure the city gets evidence-based support from national institutions that it funds and supplements their offering.

The new function will have a specific focus on Edinburgh and will bring together a coalition of the city's top talents with skills and experience in business and leisure tourism, inward investment and talent attraction.

Their expertise will be crucial in enabling Edinburgh to stand out in the highly competitive national and international destination arena.

There will be a dedicated marketing and promotion function strategy for the city, which provides a "one-stop shop" that puts our customers at the forefront of advancing sustainable economic growth in the city.

As for the so-called tourism tax, the outcome is far from decided. The issue is out to consultation to representative bodies on the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) such as the Small Guest House and Hotels Association, the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association and the Edinburgh Convention Bureau.

At the moment, I don't think there is such a thing as a blanket view across the tourism industry in Edinburgh on whether this tax should go ahead or not. ETAG, of which the council is only one member, will report back on the outcome of this consultation before any decision is made.