Visitor Levy will have an immediate effect

From Friday the Visitor Levy will be imposed on overnight stays in Edinburgh.

There are few exceptions, and the hope is that the new tax – the first in Scotland – will help the council to make the city a more attractive place for both tourists and people who live in Edinburgh alike. It is projected to raise up to £50 million a year.

The charge is 5% on top of the cost of all paid overnight stays in Edinburgh on and after 24 July, capped at five nights in a row.

All advance bookings made since 1 October last year have also carried the additional charge.

The plans for the Visitor Levy have been refined over a long period, and Edinburgh had its arrangements in place as the Scottish Government passed the necessary legislation.

The income will be applied to City Operations and Infrastructure, Culture Heritage and Events and Destination and Visitor Management. The first income will be paid to the council in October and November this year by the accommodation providers who are responsible for collecting it from their guests. They receive 2% to cover the cost of administration.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “This is such an important moment for our city – and for our residents and visitors. It’s the result of a huge amount of work over many, many years and I am proud to be the first local authority in the UK to push ahead with a city-wide visitor levy scheme. We now have a unique opportunity to invest more in the things that make our city so special.

“We know that the city’s popularity comes at a cost through the pressure it puts on our services and on the people who live and work here all year round. This small new contribution from overnight visitors will help improve the services and public spaces we all depend on, while better managing the effects of tourism and major events.

“The levy has also opened the door to exciting new projects right across the city – helping to make Edinburgh a cleaner, greener and more welcoming place. We’ll soon be able to invest more into our many parks and greenspaces, and bring much-loved cultural venues such as the Royal High School and Leith Theatre back into use for the first time in decades – and much more.

“We’ve always said this is a citywide fund and spending decisions need to be taken with the whole city in mind – and we’re very grateful to Edinburgh’s businesses and residents for their constructive feedback and support throughout the process. I’m very aware of how busy the city’s accommodation providers are at this time of year and we’re continuing to do everything we can to support them as the scheme comes into effect.

“This is a big opportunity for us all to work together and enhance Edinburgh’s position as one of the most popular visitor destinations in the world.”

Chair of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Advisory Forum, Julie Ashworth, said: “The Forum is here to continue to put forward the views of the city to ensure they are fairly and accurately represented as the investment projects begin to take shape. We all want Edinburgh to remain a world‑class destination in a way that works for everyone, and the levy is now ready to deliver transformative investment that will protect its unique heritage and support its future success.

“We’ve continued to work closely with Council officers to provide robust feedback on the investment projects and ensure the levy delivers real, visible improvements and supports both the visitor experience and everyday life for residents. From revitalised public spaces to better visitor infrastructure and experiences, we’re confident the levy can help Edinburgh stay welcoming, resilient and successful.”

Several projects have already begun in anticipation of the Visitor Levy being collected in Edinburgh – the first city in the UK to impose a tax which is commonplace in Europe and the US.

These include:

A £132,000 contribution towards Edinburgh’s Festival Carnival and Mardi Gras events, which took place last weekend of 18/19 July, providing an early demonstration of the Council’s intent to reinvest the levy’s funds into experiences that everyone can enjoy, whether they are visitors or residents.

Funding ten festival city ambassadors to help visitors find their way around the capital this summer, and work alongside the Council’s partners to make sure Edinburgh remains a vibrant and inclusive place.
Partnering with Police Scotland to create a City Centre Policing Unit, increasing public safety in the city centre and freeing up existing resource for frontline officers to be more present across other areas of the city.

Key initiatives

Other key initiatives to be delivered in the next three years include:

A £2million Participatory Budgeting (PB) programme to fund local neighbourhood projects in all 17 of the city’s electoral wards, chosen by residents via a new online voting portal, while also encouraging visitors to explore Edinburgh’s many hidden gems. This will mimic the Leith Chooses participatory budgeting project which has run for several years.

Funding to ensure the city’s streets and open spaces are clean and kept to a high standard, including a £100,000 per year upgrade and replacement programme for bins in high footfall areas, £500,000 per annum to expand work to tackle graffiti through extra support for private businesses and £1.3m on additional operations services for the city centre (waste, cleansing, and patrols).

Projects to renew and restore principal areas of Edinburgh, including investments in town centre high streets, £3m for public realm improvements in Hunter Square and £2m and £2.5m respectively towards transforming the city’s key coastal visitor attractions at Cramond foreshore and Portobello Promenade.

A £5m contribution to restore Leith Theatre and create a year round culture and live music space, expanding cultural opportunity beyond the city centre.
£3m towards transforming the Old Royal High School into a world class, national centre for music open to all.
£3.85m to speed up the setted streets renewal programme and £3m for new and upgraded public toilets to maintain Edinburgh’s streets, public spaces and public infrastructure to an accessible and world-class standard.

Investing in premier parks across the city to create improved spaces where the highest footfall and impact on the environment is experienced – and increases to the parks repairs budgets, while doubling the number of park rangers across the city.

Programmes to green the city with additional investment in planting, such as floral gateways, to improve the look and feel of the city’s green spaces as well as the overall visitor experience.

A full list of the projects to be funded in the first three years of the scheme is available on the Visitor Levy section of the Council’s website.

In the run up to the levy’s formal introduction, the Council has been providing ongoing support to businesses in the visitor economy. This has included providing materials to help businesses communicate the scheme to their guests, summarising key information on how it’s paid and the benefits it will bring to the city.