Edinburgh councilors voted overwhelmingly last week to impose a £2 per night room charge, with a maximum charge of £14. If approved by the Scottish Parliament, it will become the first tourist tax in the UK.
Dubbed the ‘Transient Visitor Levy,’ it is expected to bring in about £14.6 million per year in a city that not only has a growing tourism sector but is also home to major performing arts festivals. While the levy has overwhelming local support, and even an OK from over half the city’s accommodation providers, national hospitality groups claim that it will have a devastating effect on tourism.
Their concern is strong because they see Edinburgh as a wedge; if it succeeds in imposing the tax, it will encourage other UK cities that have proposed levies, including Bath and Oxford, which have both asked permission to go ahead. In Europe, a number of cities have levies, including Paris, Venice and Barcelona.
