Cruise ship levy could impact estimated 225,000 passengers docking in the Highlands each year amid Scottish Government budget talks
The Scottish Government has confirmed plans for a cruise ship levy during a Greens-led debate in Holyrood that could – if eventually agreed – impact the more than 100 vessels that dock in Invergordon each year.
An estimated 225,000 people arrive in Invergordon by cruise ship annually, the equivalent of 95 per cent of the Highland population.
Invergordon is the main berth for cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers, like the MSC Meraviglia with space for more than 7200 passengers and crew.
Scrabster is also a burgeoning stop for many ships - earlier this year the 71,304-tonne AIDAsol docked there during an 11-night voyage of Scotland and Norway with 2071 passengers and 624 crew aboard.
Detail is scant on the levy but when it was first raised it was thought that the rate would be flexible and depend on the capacity of the ship, length of time it stayed, and emissions.
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The levy proposal appears to have originally been a Greens initiative aiming to provide “investment to support communities hosting cruise ships” who they say can be “overwhelmed by thousands of visitors at a time”.
The move to take up the proposal was revealed by finance minister Shona Robison as Scottish ministers continue challenging negotiations with other parties aimed at delivering a budget – their first as a minority government since before the 2021 election and which will require opposition votes to pass.
Traditionally the Greens backed the SNP at the budget vote but since former First Minister Humza Yousaf booted them from the power-sharing deal in April relations between the parties cooled.
Finance secretary Shona Robison indicated SNP support for the levy scheme in answer to a question from Greens MSP Ross Greer.
He said: “I would appreciate it if the cabinet secretary could confirm that it is still the Scottish Government’s intention to deliver a cruise ship levy by the end of this parliamentary session.”
She responded: “Yes - subject to all the consultation that we need in order to take on board stakeholders’ views of the cruise ship levy. It is important that we get that right, but we are keen to move forward as quickly as we can.
“We are also carefully considering the responses to ‘Infrastructure Levy for Scotland - Discussion Paper’, which we published in June. If that levy is taken forward, it will provide local authorities with an additional mechanism to secure developer contributions to fund infrastructure in their area
“Councils will also be able to decide whether to implement a workplace parking levy, depending on local circumstances.”