Argyll & Bute Visitor Levy 2026: Why We're Opposing the £5-a-Night Tourist Tax
Updated: Sep 25
Argyll & Bute Council is consulting on a new visitor levy, often called a "tourist tax". It would be a flat £5 per room, per night, charged year-round on overnight stays across the whole region, including Oban, Mull, Islay, and the rest of the islands.
Anyone who lives in, owns property in, or travels to Oban as a tourist is eligible to participate in the ongoing consultation. But the deadline to submit your feedback is Monday 5 October 2026.
As a locally run holiday letting business in Oban, we're opposing the proposal. And here’s why.
Haven't we been here before?
Yes. In 2025, the Council consulted on a 5% levy and received 3,352 responses. 73% of respondents either rejected a levy outright or disagreed with the proposal.
Only 19% were in favour. Among businesses, two-thirds said they didn't want a levy at all.
This meant the council paused its plans. Now, less than a year later, a revised scheme is back again. This time as a flat rate, made possible by a change in Scottish legislation.
What's being proposed in the visitor levy?
£5 per room, per night, all year round
Applied across the whole of Argyll & Bute, including the islands
An indicative start date of summer 2028, if approved
Our concerns about the visitor levy
A flat rate hits cheaper stays hardest.
£5 a night is a small add-on to a luxury hotel room. It's a much bigger share of the cost of a budget cottage, a campsite pitch or a family on a week-long holiday. The Council's own draft impact assessment accepts that budget visitors may feel a disproportionate impact.
The evidence isn't there yet.
The Council has estimated how much revenue the levy could generate, yet its own documents confirm that the impact assessments remain in draft form and depend on the outcome of this consultation. They also identify significant gaps in occupancy data and uncertainty about how many businesses would be affected. A new tax should not be proposed until its potential impact on visitors, jobs and local businesses is properly understood.
It would add to everything else.
Accommodation providers already face licensing fees, rising operating costs, and ferry disruption that affects guests’ travel. The Council’s own business case studies identify the combined burden of short-term let licensing and a visitor levy as a serious concern.
Visitors have choices.
Oban and the isles compete with neighbouring destinations for every booking. By increasing prices, the levy risks driving visitors elsewhere, along with the money they would spend in local shops, cafés and attractions.
The Argyll & Bute tourist tax survey is unfair
In our view, this year’s survey makes it unnecessarily difficult for respondents to express outright opposition to the levy. It does not ask the simple question: “Do you support a visitor levy: yes or no?”
Instead, almost every question assumes a levy will be introduced and focuses on how it should operate, including the rate, exemptions and use of the revenue. The only opportunity to reject the levy entirely is through a free-text box near the end of the survey.
This is not a new issue. The Council’s report on the 2025 consultation acknowledged that its surveys had not explicitly asked whether respondents supported a levy. It also found that some people who objected to the proposed rate should have selected the option stating that they did not support a levy. Despite recognising these shortcomings, the Council has again issued a survey without a clear yes-or-no question.
We believe this is unfair to everyone taking part, regardless of their position. A consultation on a new tax should begin by asking the most fundamental question clearly: do people support it?
So how to make your view on the Argyll & Bute Visitor Levy count?
If you oppose the levy, use the comment box towards the end to say so clearly. Don't assume the tickbox answers will carry your overall view.
The Council has separate surveys for residents, visitors and businesses, and says you can complete more than one if more than one applies to you.
And regardless of your opinion, make sure you have your say before 5th October 2026: https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/visitor-levy
Whether you live here, visit, or run a business, this decision affects the future of tourism across Argyll & Bute. Please take ten minutes to respond.
