Edinburgh Council set to vote on introducing 5% ‘tourist tax’

Councillors in Edinburgh are to vote in a while the introduction of a vacationer tax aimed toward elevating as much as £50m a 12 months.

The metropolis might turn out to be the primary in Scotland to cost a 5% customer levy on stays, with the income used to fund enhancements to the capital.

The cost, which mimics these already in place in main European locations, would cowl lodges, B&Bs, self-catering lodging and rooms and properties let by way of web sites comparable to AirBnB.

However, opponents say it’ll deter guests to town and dangers harming Edinburgh’s attraction as a vacationer vacation spot.

Proposals for the tax will probably be voted on at a gathering of town council’s coverage and sustainability committee.

If handed, the levy might be introduced in in time for the pageant season in 2026 and can convey Edinburgh in step with cities comparable to Amsterdam, Berlin and Lisbon.

Funds generated from the tax could be used for the advance of public areas.

Council chief Cammy Day mentioned £5m of that may even be dedicated to housing, with 35% going again into the humanities sector.

He mentioned the cost could be “an enormous profit” to town, including he doubted the scale of the cost would flip any potential guests away.

Mr Day advised BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “It’s equal of some kilos price of a cup of espresso. The proof that we’ve completed and analysis from internationally exhibits a levy has no influence on tourism.

“People don’t come right here to see the insides of resort rooms, folks come right here to see the world heritage centre, the fort, the palace, the hills, the ocean across the metropolis, the superb capital that we’re.

“I can’t see a number of kilos placing someone off visiting town. If you possibly can afford to spend lots of of kilos on a resort room, you possibly can afford a number of kilos to assist town that you’re visiting.”

Edinburgh launched new rules for AirBnB-style properties in October final 12 months in an try to curb the growth of short-term letting lodging.

Hosts should licence their properties if renting them as a short-term let, or face a positive of as much as £2,500.

The metropolis council declared a housing emergency in November 2023 because of skyrocketing home costs and rental charges, coupled with a report variety of folks figuring out as homeless.

Tourists contribute an estimated 5.3 million in a single day stays to Edinburgh yearly.

But already costly room charges soar in value throughout the August pageant season and concert-goers visiting Murrayfield for Taylor Swift’s trio of offered out exhibits earlier this 12 months reported surging costs for single-night stays.

Leon Thompson, government director of UK Hospitality Scotland, mentioned an extra cost on prime of that charge could be handed on to vacationers.

He additionally mentioned the elevated administrative and implementation prices for companies could be an extra blow to these within the sector.

“Tourist taxes usually are not good for this nation,” he mentioned.

“We are already not a really aggressive vacation spot.

“We have the very best charge of VAT on hospitality in Europe and we even have outdated enterprise charges which all add to the prices for companies and clearly these prices are which go on to the customer expertise.”

Proposals for a vacationer tax in Edinburgh had been initially put ahead in 2019.

However, laws giving native authorities the facility to use the levy was not revealed till May 2023.

If plans are authorized, they are going to be put out for a 12-week public session.

A remaining resolution would then be taken in January 2025, with the scheme totally applied by July 2026.

Manchester launched a £1 per room, per evening charge final 12 months aimed toward paying for measures to draw extra vacationers.

It was estimated to have raised about £2.8m in its first 12 months.

John Lennon, director of the Moffat Centre for journey and tourism enterprise growth at Glasgow Caledonian University, mentioned surcharges weren’t essentially a barrier to vacationers visiting main cities.

“Visitor levies usually are not new, you see them in cities from New York to Amsterdam, to Manchester.

“In New York, for instance, the levy is 15%, so Edinburgh compared at 5% appears to be like fairly small.

“Those cities haven’t seen diminution of tourists as a result of measurement of the levy. When we’re seeing equivalents elsewhere, it will be marginal when it comes to value disruption.”