Why we introduced a Tourism Levy

This Summer Edinburgh took a big step forward in addressing an issue that has long faced Edinburgh: the cost of its own popularity.  

While our successful visitor economy brings plenty of economic, cultural and other benefits to the city each year, our residents shouldn’t have to shoulder the full cost of hosting millions of visitors and the strain this puts on local services. 

The Edinburgh Visitor Levy is the result of a great deal of work over many years and I’m proud that we’re the UK’s first local authority to introduce a city-wide scheme.

It’s only fair that people visiting the city make this contribution to help us manage tourism sustainably and boost a huge range of initiatives to enhance visitor experiences. Thanks to them, Edinburgh is set to gain up to £50 million extra income a year by 2029: the single biggest injection of funding of this type since the National Lottery was introduced in 1994.

We’re using the proceeds to fund a wide range of projects right across the Capital – not just in the city centre.

While we won’t receive the first payments from accommodation providers until November, we’re not waiting around to start delivering on our promises. Already we’ve budgeted to bring back popular events during this summer’s festivals, funded festival city ambassadors to help visitors find their way around the capital and partnered with Police Scotland to create a new City Centre Policing Unit. 

But it’s so much more than that. We can now invest further in our plentiful parks and greenspaces, transform our city into a cleaner, greener, safer and more welcoming environment, and bring much-loved cultural venues back into use for the first time in decades – like our £8 million combined investment in the Leith Theatre and former Royal High School as a new national centre for music.

I was very pleased to share our experiences of introducing the scheme with leaders of other councils across the UK at this year’s Labour Party Annual Conference, as they seek to develop similar schemes of their own. I also discussed common challenges and opportunities with private sector organisations, and I’m grateful for their constructive feedback. We’re fully committed to our engagement with industry as we support everyone to navigate the levy’s introduction, as we have done throughout this process. 

After all, sustaining and enhancing everything that makes Edinburgh such a popular destination isn’t just great news for the city’s visitors. What’s not to like about boosting projects and services that benefit us all?

Jane Meagher, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council