As councils and mayors across the United Kingdom consider implementing tourist taxes to raise money for services and infrastructure, authorities in Glasgow, Scotland, have given the green light to a new tourist levy of 5% that will be applicable to overnight stays from 25 January 2027.
It is estimated that, on average, guests will pay a surcharge of around £4.83 (€5.64) per night. The measure’s scope extends from B&Bs, guest houses and hostels, to hotels and self-catering rentals. It is expected to raise approximately £16 million (€18.6 million) annually – a sum that will be spent on infrastructure and events.
A number of other Scottish authorities, including Argyll and Bute, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Highland, and South Ayrshire have also been negotiating similar fiscal plans but have met with opposition from locals and business leaders alike.
💷 Your SNP-run Council in Glasgow have just secured plans for a tourist tax which will generate £17mil a year to invest back into Glasgow.
— Glasgow SNP Group (@SNPforGlasgow) June 19, 2025
What would you spend the money on🤔? pic.twitter.com/SIHhUMi66r
Glasgow, which is Scotland’s most populous city, follows the capital Edinburgh in approving such a move. Councillors in Edinburgh gave the go ahead in January 2025 for a 5% levy on nightly accommodation that will be payable from 24 July 2026. It is anticipated to generate around £50 million (over €58 million) for city improvement schemes but has proved to be controversial and has been capped at five nights.
In Glasgow the proposals will see hotel operators, who are responsible for collecting the fees, retain 1.5% of the proceeds to help them cover the additional administrative costs. An amendment to limit the retention of fees by business to a three-year transition period was rejected.
Addressing the city administration committee on 19 June, deputy council leader and city treasurer Ricky Bell hailed the city’s “powers to be able to raise our own revenues” and expressed hope for further devolution of authority to local government.
Today, @GlasgowCC’s City Administration Committee agreed to move forward plans for a Visitor Levy scheme in our city: making sure Glaswegians know that they will see improved services as tourist numbers continue to rise 🛬🚄🎫📸🛌 pic.twitter.com/voHhggP29P
— Glasgow SNP Group (@SNPforGlasgow) June 19, 2025
Meanwhile, across the border to the south, English mayors recently wrote a joint open letter appealing for such powers themselves. The coalition, led by Steve Rotheram, Liverpool’s mayor, is lobbying the government for more powers to impose local tourist taxes to help popular destinations cope with “pressures on our infrastructure and services.”
Rotheram argues that: “A small charge on overnight stays – the kind most of us wouldn’t think twice about when travelling abroad – would give us the power to reinvest directly into the things that make our area so special.”
It’s a point already accepted by many destinations around the world, from Venice, which introduced daytripper access charges in 2024, to Mount Fuji in Japan.
