The Council Leader, Cllr Jane Meagher, has formally written to The Scottish Government to advise that Edinburgh intends to impose a Visitor Levy.
Writing on Friday following the Council’s decision to introduce a Visitor Levy scheme, Council Leader Jane Meagher addressed the Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee.
Dear Minister for Public Finance,
I am writing to formally declare Edinburgh’s intention to introduce a Visitor Levy scheme.
A full public consultation period was carried out from 23 September 2024 – 15 December 2024, with the results published in a reportwith the final recommended scheme.
During a Council meeting today, the details of our Scheme were agreed and will see a levy in place from 24 July 2026, applying to all bookings made on and after 1 October 2025. The full final scheme is available on our website.
The overarching aim of the scheme and the reason for us to agree to proceed with it is to sustain Edinburgh’s status as one of the world’s greatest cultural and heritage cities and to ensure that the impacts of a successful visitor economy are managed effectively and in support of the priorities as set out in the Council’s Business Plan.
I would like to thank you and the work of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill team. In advancing the legislation, the Scottish Government is giving Councils greater financial responsibility and strengthening local democracy.
I am immensely proud that Edinburgh becomes the first city in Scotland to declare a levy. We were named Europe’s leading sustainable destination 2023 by the World Travel Awards and Edinburgh continues to be a world class destination with around 4 million visitors a year and a growing economy.
The visitor levy will help boost the tourism industry with funds re-invested back into local facilities and services that will support the sustainable growth of the visitor economy. This new source of funding is urgently needed to sustain local services and spaces used by visitors and locals alike.
I look forward to continued working between the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government as we enter the implementation period.
Yours sincerely
Jane Meagher
Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
