‘Important milestone’ for visitor levy ahead of council decision next week

Plans for a visitor levy reached an “important milestone” on Friday ahead of a final decision next week, the leader of Edinburgh City Council has said.

The proposed scheme was approved by the council’s Visitor Levy, Policy and Sustainability Committee on Friday, subject to further advice on the three-month transition period.

The plan will go before all councillors for final approval at a special meeting of the council on January 24.

Speaking after the decision on Friday, council leader Jane Meagher described the charge, which is expected to raise £50 million each year for the authority, as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to invest in the city.

“Today represented yet another important milestone in our journey towards securing a visitor levy for Edinburgh – and to realising a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest tens of millions of pounds towards enhancing and sustaining the things that make our city such a great place to visit – and live in – all year round,” she said.

“At all stages of this process, we’ve listened to, and taken account of, the views of residents, industry and other stakeholders – and we mustn’t lose sight of just how much positivity there is for the scheme across all of these groups.

“It’s in this spirit that we’re considering the further submissions received from the wider tourism sector this week, ensuring we’re as well informed as we can be ahead of taking a decision next Friday.

“I remain focused on delivering a scheme that will be both fit for purpose and workable – and that will benefit our city, our residents and our visitors for many years to come.”

Holyrood approved legislation giving councils across Scotland the ability to introduce a visitor levy in May 2024, and Edinburgh is expected to be the first authority to introduce it.

If approved, the levy would see a 5% charge applied to those staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts, self-catering accommodation, and campsites and caravan parks.

The levy would be applied on bookings made after May 1 this year, for accommodation stays from July 24 2026 onwards.

Charges would be applied for a maximum of five consecutive nights per person under the plans.

Earlier this week, the Federation of Small Businesses warned the timescale for introducing the charge could cause “significant disruption” to businesses.

They pointed out the online platform being brought in as part of the proposals was “still in development”, adding that the council’s focus should be on ensuring the scheme is introduced “without a hitch”, rather than on implementing it as quickly as possible.