An in-person out of hours engagement session to gather your valuable insights on the potential for establishing a Dundee Visitor Levy.

Dundee City Council is asking for your views on whether the city should introduce a visitor levy, and if so, how it should work. This is your chance to have your say.

What a visitor levy is: A visitor levy is a small charge added to the cost of staying overnight in paid accommodation, such as a hotel, guest house, bed and breakfast, hostel, self-catering property or short-term let. Scottish local authorities were given the power to introduce one by the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024.

Why the Council is looking at this: Dundee has grown as a place to visit. The city has real strengths in culture, design, events, and business and conference tourism. It also faces pressures: the visitor season is uneven across the year, and parts of the city centre and the spaces visitors use need continued investment.

At present, the cost of maintaining and improving the things visitors use, the public realm, wayfinding, events, visitor information, accessibility improvements, falls almost entirely on the Council’s general budget, which is under sustained pressure. A visitor levy would ask people who stay overnight in the city to make a contribution towards those things.

What the money could be used for: The law is specific about this. Money raised must first be used to deliver the aims of the scheme, and after that only on facilities and services substantially used by visitors. It must be held in a separate account and reported on publicly every year. It cannot be used to plug general Council budget gaps, and it is not intended to replace existing spending.

No decision has been taken: The Council is still to decide whether or not to introduce a visitor levy. It has prepared two possible ways a levy could be charged so that people have something concrete to comment on. Your views will be reported to elected members and will help decide whether to proceed at all, and if so, which approach to take and how the scheme should be designed.

Other ways to take part:

Online survey: Have your say on a possible visitor levy for Dundee! – Fill in form

Paper copies are available at the McManus and the Central Library. There will be a range of in person events publicised which will give opportunity to express your views in person.

Any enquiries please email: visitorlevy@urbanforesight.com

Please also see our FAQs for more information.

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