The ASSC is committed to keeping its members, partners and stakeholders informed and engaged by sharing relevant news coverage about Scotland’s self-catering sector. This includes not only media coverage directly related to the sector but also broader articles and reports that may impact or interest our members.
This page will serve as a regularly updated resource, so stay tuned as we continue to showcase the vital role self-catering plays in Scotland’s tourism economy and the collective efforts to ensure a fair and thriving future for the sector.
March 2026
East Lothian Courier, Just 19 people take part in consultation on temporary holiday lets, 08/03/26
Edinburgh Reporter, Consultation over short-term lets in favour of temporary licences, 06/03/26
Herald, Edinburgh business community fights Leith planning bid, 06/03/26
Edinburgh Live, Edinburgh business owners fear holiday lets will ‘devastate unique vibrancy’, 05/03/26
Glasgow Live, Glasgow overseas worker wins short term let battle as refusal ‘jeopardises’ their housing, 05/03/26
Scotsman, VisitScotland ‘excited and saddened’ by last series of Outlander after show’s ‘huge impact’ on tourism, 06/03/26
Herald, Anger over CalMac Easter ferry cuts on famous tourist route, 05/03/26
National, Councillors delay vote on tourist tax despite backlash, 04/03/26
Scottish Sun, RIGHTMOVIE Huge TV & film star locked in planning battle after council bosses ruled she couldn’t rent out plush Glasgow pad, 02/03/26
February 2026:
Edinburgh Reporter, Outcry from Edinburgh residents after short-term let flats approved, 27/02/26
Edinburgh Live, Plans to turn West Lothian Farmfoods into holiday let hotel backed by Scottish Government, 26/02/26
Deadline News, Outcry from Edinburgh residents after short-term let flats approved, 26/02/26
Edinburgh Live, Edinburgh councillors approve city holiday flats branded ‘vile’ by locals, 25/02/26
Herald, Call for ‘tourist tax’ to be used for Glasgow public bus company, 25/02/26 [also in Glasgow Live]
Edinburgh Reporter, Tourist tax to fund Leith Links regeneration, 26/02/26
Deadline News, Amended visitor levy bill to be debated in committee, 25/02/26
Scottish Daily Express, Scots entrepreneur claims he will be forced to bulldoze his holiday homes to escape 620% SNP tax hike, 24/02/26
Scottish Construction Now, Residents confront planning chief over New Town ‘super hostel’ bid, 25/02/26
Herald, Scottish Government dismisses Flamingo Land appeal, 24/02/26
Edinburgh Reporter, Edinburgh residents “blindsided” by “appalling” short-term let decision, 23/02/26
Central FM, Consultation on Falkirk visitor levy, 24/02/26
Tax Advisor, Scottish visitor levy: amendment bill, 23/02/26
Edinburgh Live, Edinburgh neighbours ‘won’t back down’ as they vow to battle ‘vile’ holiday flat, 22/02/26
Daily Record, Green light for short term tourism offering at popular Prestwick watering hole, 19/02/26
Cockburn Association, What Edinburgh’s New Tourist Tax Means for the City, 19/02/26
Evening News, Making tourism work for city’s residents – Foysol Choudhury, 20/02/26
West Coast Today, Priority should be on “building”, not short term lets, say business alliance, 19/02/26
Herald, Business leader takes aim at Highland visitor attraction, 19/02/26
Scottish Business News, Scottish Government backs self-catering sector with new rates relief following ASSC campaign, 17/02/26
Ross-shire Journal, Self-catering business to get non-domestic rates relief after SNP-Lib Dem budget deal as trade body ASSC highlights role of Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing, 16/02/26
John O’Groat Journal/Caithness Courier, Self-catering business to get non-domestic rates relief after SNP-LibDem budget deal as trade body ASSC highlights role of Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing, 16/02/26
Strathspey & Badenoch Herald, Self-catering business to get non-domestic rates relief after SNP-Lib Dem budget deal as trade body ASSC highlights role of Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing, 16/02/26
Northern Times, Self-catering business to get non-domestic rates relief after SNP-Lib Dem budget deal as trade body ASSC highlights role of Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing, 16/02/26
Inverness Courier, Self-catering business to get non-domestic rates relief after SNP-Lib Dem budget deal, 16/02/26
STV, Short-term let in historic Stockbridge Colonies approved, 16/02/26
National, Tourists used ‘Highlands as a toilet’ over 6000 times in 2025, 16/02/26
Evening News, Agreeing Visitor Levy spend is just the start – Jane Meagher, 16/02/26
NEN, Holyrood committee backs Bill to update Visitor Levy legislation, 16/02/26
Daily Record, Private investigator says use phone to scan inside holiday lets, 13/02/26
Press and Journal, Expansion of short-term let controls in Highlands defended as ‘not anti-tourism’ as more restrictions described as ‘politics of jealousy’, 12/02/26
BBC, Public to be consulted on new Highland short-term let control zones, 12/02/26
North Edinburgh News, Council agrees first round of Edinburgh Visitor Levy spending, 13/02/26
BBC, Edinburgh tourist tax to help tackle city’s housing emergency, 12/02/26
Edinburgh Live, Edinburgh Council decides what to spend ?90m ‘tourist tax’ windfall on, 12/02/26
Evening News, Tourist Tax priorities create an all-too predictable city bunfight – Sue Webber, 12/02/26
Edinburgh Evening News, Spending Edinburgh Visitor Levy: Final plea for three historic buildings left off the list, 11/02/26
Scottish Business News, Nearly one in five Scottish Self-Catering businesses face closure under 2026 Rates Revaluation, 11/02/26
Scottish Daily Express, More toilets, less buskers: Edinburgh residents tell city council how to spend tourism tax windfall, 10/02/26
Herald, ‘It seems like the town is more catered for tourists’, 11/02/26
Herald, Scottish Golf Tourism Week unveils whisky partnership, 10/02/26
Times, Airports warn soaring business rates threaten jobs and routes, 10/02/26
Scottish Daily Express, Murdo Fraser slams John Swinney over ‘catastrophic’ failure as B&Bs face ruin under SNP Government’s tax grab, 10/02/26
We Love Stornoway, Rates-rise ‘set to doom self-caterers’, 10/02/26
Evening News, The Visitor Levy must not be squandered – Ed Thornley, 09/02/26
Herald, ‘Too few Highlanders chairing public bodies’, 10/02/26
Scottish Housing News, Edinburgh short-term let control area has ‘delivered no measurable housing benefit’, FOI reveals, 09/02/26
Inverness Courier, Highland visitor levy would ‘disproportionately’ hit smaller operators and drive some out of business according to economic impact assessments as Highland Council rethink call remains, 08/02/26
Edinburgh Evening News, Spending Edinburgh tourist tax: 16 arts and culture projects set to be funded from Visitor Levy, 08/02/26
Herald, From the Cavalcade to bins — what should Edinburgh’s Tourist Tax fund?, 08/02/26
Herald, Tourist tax plans criticised after Fringe pleas are snubbed, 07/02/26
Inverness Courier, Highland bid for dual urban and rural short term let control area consultations for Inverness and rural areas like Inverness-shire, Ross-shire and Sutherland, 08/02/26
Courier, Have holiday lets turned Elie into a winter ‘ghost town’?, 06/02/26
North Edinburgh News, Edinburgh short-term let control area has delivered NO measurable housing benefit, new FOI reveals, 05/02/26
Daily Business, ‘No proof’ of short-term lets rule lifting homes supply, 05/02/26
Scottish Business News, ASSC warns councils after FOI reveals no evidence Edinburgh let controls improved housing outcomes, 04/02/26
Midlothian View, Edinburgh STL controls deliver ‘no measurable housing benefit’, FOI shows, 04/02/26
Scottish Legal News, Sheriff upholds council’s rejection of short-term let licence based on consideration of one objection, 04/02/26
Deadline, Edinburgh ?90m tourist tax spending plans scrutinised by councillors, 04/02/26
Argyllshire Advertiser, Mid-Argyll businesses warn of incoming rate hikes, 04/02/26
Edinburgh Evening News, Edinburgh tourist tax could be used to fund more police for city centre, 04/02/26
Argyll and Bute 24, Tourist Tax “at critical level” in Argyll and Bute, 03/02/26
Herald, Edinburgh reveals £25m tourist tax spending plans on culture, 02/02/26
Herald, Why Edinburgh visitor levy plans will likely be an arts game-changer, 02/02/26
Edinburgh Evening News, Edinburgh’s tourist tax could help bring back Festival Cavalcade and Fireworks Concert, 02/02/26
Daily Business, Findlay demands rates cut to save struggling pubs, 02/02/26
Evening Times, Fresh plans to turn public toilets into holiday let in Glasgow, 01/02/26
NEN, ‘Significant progress’ made on capital’s Visitor Levy revenue funding, 01/02/26
January 2026:
Daily Business, Greene demands Robison follows NI’s rates pause, 30/01/26
Edinburgh Reporter, Councillors agree capital investment from Visitor Levy funding, 31/01/26
Herald, Unfair to tax workers ‘like luxury golf tourists’, says FSB, 30/01/26
Scottish Daily Express, Don’t tax dockyard workers like St Andrews golfers, business chiefs warn Fife Council, 30/01/26
Badenoch & Strathspey Herald, Claims mass influx of A9 construction workers to dual Dalraddy-Slochd section will wipe out holiday accommodation in Badenoch and Strathspey, 29/01/26
Herald, Fresh bid to turn Victorian toilet block in Glasgow into holiday let, 29/01/26
BBC, Further delay to Argyll and Bute tourist tax plans, 29/01/26
Press release from ECC on how they intend to spend the proceeds of the visitor levy: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/14349/first-steps-taken-on-visitor-levy-revenue-funding
Evening News, Edinburgh holiday flat in historic neighbourhood approved despite over 30 objections, 29/01/26
Glasgow Times, Plans for holiday lets in Glasgow’s Berkeley Street rejected, 28/01/26
Holyrood, Richard Lochhead: I don’t know how you can define what a Scottish tourism ceiling would look like, 29/01/26
Glasgow Live, Glasgow tourist flats bid sparks fears over ‘unacceptable’ loss of homes, 26/01/26 (same story covered on STV News)
Evening News, Spending Edinburgh’s tourist tax: All 21 transport and environment projects proposed for funding from the Visitor Levy, 26/01/26
Argyll and Bute 24, Argyll and Bute council delays visitor levy decision, 26/01/26
Oban Times, Council wants to press pause on Visitor Levy again, 23/01/26 [copied below]
Daily Record, Grandparents on ‘holiday helper’ trips among growing tourism trends in Scotland, 26/01/26
Scotsman, Traitors UK: How The Traitors is driving a tourist boom in Scotland, 26/01/26
Herald, Australian family win two-year fight for holiday let near Edinburgh, 23/01/26
Scottish Farmer, Manifesto seeks tourism reset and end to scapegoating, 21/01/26
Scottish Business News, Scotland’s self-catering sector hit hardest by punitive business rates rise, 22/01/26
AberdeenLive, Dyce cottage holiday home plans thrown out amid fears of nuisance for neighbours, 22/01/26
BBC, Former butchers could become holiday apartment, 21/01/26
Scotsman, Readers’ Letters: Edinburgh Council determined to waste Visitor Levy money, 22/01/26
North Edinburgh News, Scotland’s Self-Catering Industry sets out stall ahead of Holyrood elections, 20/01/26
Scotsman, Edinburgh tourist tax to fund long-awaited revamp of George Street, 20/01/26
Edinburgh Reporter, Council identifies what the Visitor Levy will pay for, 20/01/26
Argyll and Bute 24, Council welcomes possible fixed-rate visitor levy under new bill, 20/01/26
Scottish Business News, ASSC launches 2026 manifesto urging fair regulation and stronger tourism partnership, 19/01/26
Scottish Daily Express, Every Scottish town and city that will introduce new tax on overnight stays- hitting Scots and tourists in the pocket, 20/01/26
Shetland News, Short-term let licence fee increase ‘essential to ensure sustainability’ of service, SIC says, 17/01/26
West Coast Today, Visitor levy amendments provoke mixed reactions, 16/01/26
Scotsman, Stirling council leader ‘proud’ after city named best place to visit in the UK in 2026, 17/01/26
Perthshire Business News, Budget falls short of easing Perthshire rates fears, 15/01/26
LBC, Scottish businesses plea for help in Budget as rates soar by 400%, 12/01/26
Shetland News, Shetland tourism sector concerned by 113 per cent increase in short-term let licence fees, 13/01/26
Scottish Financial News, RSM UK warns new levy could drive tourists away from Scotland, 12/01/26
Falkirk Herald, Consultation proposed for plans to introduce visitor levy for Falkirk area tourists, 12/01/26
Helensburgh Advertiser, Proposed change to visitor levy plan ‘a positive step’, 12/01/26
Aberdeen Business News, Aberdeen tops Scottish ‘Fun City’ Ranking amidst surging tourism, 12/01/26
Shetland News, Self-catering provider’s ‘urgent concern’ over proposed increases to business rates, 13/01/26
Daily Post, £32m bombshell for holiday let owners in Wales under Airbnb ‘stealth tax’, 13/01/26
Scottish Sun, PAY-CATION Visitors flocking to famous Scots attraction set to be hit with new tourist tax, 13/01/26
Scottish Farmer, Visitor levy options updated for Scottish councils, 11/01/26
Scotsman, Controls on holiday lets in East Neuk ‘ghost towns’ considered, 11/01/26
Scottish Financial News, Tourism expert appointed to spearhead £16m Scotland Loves Local initiative, 09/01/26
NEN, Visitor Levy Amendment Bill published, 08/01/26
Herald, Sam Heughan urges politicians to champion South of Scotland tourism, 08/01/26
BBC, Inverness and surrounding area could get short-term let control zones, 08/01/26
Scottish Business News, ASSC welcomes Scottish Government Visitor Levy (Amendment) Bill, 08/01/26
News and Star, Tourist tax could be brought in at South of Scotland locations, 08/01/26
Evening News, Tourist tax: Hospitality providers urge councils to switch from percentage levy to flat rate as new Bill is published, 08/01/26
Scotsman, Scottish councils to be given more powers over tourist taxes, 07/01/26
Scotsman, Scottish council told to halt plans to introduce holiday let control zones, 08/01/26
Scottish Housing News, Two Short-Term Let Control Areas to be considered for Inverness area, 08/01/26
Inverness Courier, Highland Council agrees to consult on Inverness short-term let control areas, 07/01/26
Fife Today, Rennie calls for Fife Council to agree short-term let control areas, 07/01/26
STV News, ‘Ease the pain’ and slash Scots’ bills, Tories tell Swinney ahead of budget, 07/01/26
Herald, The ‘critical’ situation facing Scottish hospitality sector, 07/01/26
Herald, Why Edinburgh’s success is driving locals up the wall, 07/01/26
Dunfermline Press, Fife Council extends levy consultation until end of January, 06/01/26
Fife Today, Tourist tax: Fife extends consultation on contentious Visitor Levy which could net £10m, 06/01/26
Daily Telegraph, Lisbon ends ban on new holiday lets after crackdown backfires, 06/01/26
Inverness Courier, Looming Scottish budget sparks Inverness business advocates call for business rate discounts for retail, hospitality, and leisure after similar changes in England, 06/01/26
Independent, Scotland forecast to benefit from ‘coolcations’ as Med becomes too hot, 06/01/26
Herald, Why fixing Scotland’s homes must come first to avert deeper crises, 05/01/26
Scottish Daily Express, Scottish council area revealed as worst in Britain for rate of new homes being built, 05/01/26
Times, Scotland’s Airbnb crackdown failed to crush the market, 03/01/26
Helensburgh Advertiser, Looking at top Argyll and Bute Council news of 2025, 03/01/25
Daily Record, Scotland set for tourism surge from ‘coolcations’ as Mediterranean becomes too hot, 03/01/26
Short Term Rentalz, Lisbon lifts short-term rental restrictions, 02/01/26
STV News, Stirling businesses fear customer decline as council votes for visitor levy, 01/01/26