As the 2024 Edinburgh Festival season comes to an end, visitors planning for events over the next two years might want to take into account a potential increase to the cost of their trip, as councillors in the Scottish capital have given initial approval for the launch of a tourist tax.
“Huge benefit” for housing and arts
While Manchester became the UK’s first city to bring in a tourist charge in spring 2023, and raised nearly £3m in the first year, the idea has long been debated elsewhere, both in Scotland and around the world.
Edinburgh, the Highlands and Aberdeen expressed support for a charge six years ago, saying they could not cope with the financial pressures that tourism management entails. The concept was widely backed at the time by local attractions, businesses, and residents.
Now Edinburgh has ploughed ahead with plans to introduce a fee by summer 2026 that could raise up to £50m annually (€59m) to go towards city improvements, with lead councillor Cammy Day saying it would bring “huge benefit” to the city and that £5m of the ensuing revenue would be spent on housing and 35% would be allocated for the arts.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Unite Hospitality (@FairHospitality) August 22, 2024
Thanks to pressure from @LivingRent_Edi Edinburgh Council have agreed to invest £5m of the new Tourist Tax into council & affordable housing.
Today, workers took action outside the Council Chambers with a clear message – low paid workers deserve low rents! pic.twitter.com/OMSBALEfva
A percentage to be added to accommodation costs
Unlike the entry fee introduced on peak tourism days in Venice, Italy this year, which required visitors to register online and secure a QR code to gain entry to the lagoon city’s historic centre and main islands, the Edinburgh charge is intended to be levied as a percentage on accommodation costs, with room providers responsible for collecting the fee
A three-month consultation period is now set for autumn 2024, with residents invited to judge whether the proposed 5% charge should be increased or lowered.
Too much or too little?
Some politicians among the Scottish Greens have already said the draft proposal of 5% is too low and that the figure should be around 8%. Others fear the charge will be so high it will deter tourists from choosing Scotland as a destination. But with the growth in popularity of so-called “coolcations” in northern European destinations, and similar charges already in place in places such as Amsterdam, Berlin and New York, Day has already dismissed those concerns. “I can’t see a few pounds putting somebody off visiting the city. If you can afford to spend hundreds of pounds on a hotel room, you can afford a few pounds to support the city that you are visiting,” he said.
Day had already vigorously defended the “transient visitor levy” (TVL). “We’re very proud that Edinburgh is one of the world’s most popular visitor destinations, but we’re equally aware that this success comes at a cost,” he said last year when proposing the tax. “That’s why we believe it’s right to ask visitors to make a small contribution to help us sustain and improve our tourism offer while managing its impact, and why we’ve been a key driver working with Cosla [the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities] and the Scottish government to see this legislation brought forward.
“A visitor levy is common practice in other major cities and destinations so why not here, in the place named ‘best city in the world’ to visit by Time Out magazine?”
