Cruise ship levies - design, implementation and impacts: international evidence review

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Background

Globally, cruise tourism is a growing sub-sector of the tourism industry. Forecasts indicate that in 2025, cruise ship travellers will amount to 36.3 million people (Deloitte Consulting BV, 2023). Europe is the second most popular cruising destination. The cruise industry in Scotland has seen significant growth in recent years (Ekosgen Report, 2020), however, recent scholarship has identified that cruise tourism can have complex economic, social, and environmental impacts (Vega-Muñoz et al., 2020). Studies such as Kulkov et al. (2023) have suggested that policymakers, local authorities and industry stakeholders will need to work together to develop strategies and practices that will manage the impacts of cruise tourism and ensure the industry’s sustainability. Many jurisdictions worldwide have included taxation as a part of their management approach.

The Scottish Government (2024) has confirmed that it is open to giving local authorities the power to introduce a cruise ship levy, and will be engaging with local authorities, the cruise ship industry, and other stakeholders over the coming months to explore this issue and develop more detailed proposals. To complement future consultations a desk-based review of relevant available evidence has been carried out to provide an overview of international approaches to cruise ship levies and their impact on the industry and the relevant jurisdictions.

1.2 Purpose

This report sets out the findings of a desk-based review of the evidence on the impact of cruise ship levies in the context of international jurisdictions. The review includes a summary of current cruise ship levies internationally, and a review of the available evidence on their impact, relating to economic, social and environmental factors. The key findings are outlined by jurisdiction from section three.