Edinburgh council agrees Scotlandâs first visitor levy charge at online meeting
Visitors staying in the city will have to pay a 5% fee per night, capped at seven nights.
Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis
I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.
Scotlandâs first-ever visitor levy has been approved by councillors in Edinburgh.
Members of the City of Edinburgh Council agreed the plans, which will bring in the charge on those staying in overnight accommodation throughout the area.
Visitors staying in the city will have to pay a 5% fee per night, capped at seven nights â which is expected to raise up to £50 million a year for the local authority.
With a rare red weather warning in place during Storm Eowyn, councillors met virtually on Friday to discuss the proposals.
Council leader Jane Meagher has previously described the levy as a âonce-in-a-lifetime opportunityâ to invest in the city.
The new charge could be applied to those staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts and other forms of overnight accommodation. (Jane Barlow/PA)
Last year, the Scottish Parliament approved legislation giving councils the ability to introduce such a charge.
The 5% charge will apply to those staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts, and other forms of accommodation, including holiday lets.
Under the councilâs plans, the levy will begin for stays taking place after July 24, 2026. There will now be a nine-month transition period, with bookings paid for in part or in full after October 1, 2025 being liable for the levy.
Fridayâs full council meeting to discuss the proposal comes after it was backed last week by the authorityâs policy and sustainability committee.
The Green and SNP groups on the city council urged the Labour-run administration to adopt a higher rate of the levy, proposing 7% and 8% respectively.
They argued more money is needed for housing in the city.
Conservative councillor Iain Whyte said his group does not back the levy, arguing it will damage tourism, but put forward proposals as they recognised it would happen anyway.
Ms Meagher said she had sought to accommodate the other partiesâ interests in the administrationâs motion, saying the council had listened to a âhuge range of consulteesâ.
She said: âWe have listened to many voices and come to a conclusion that is sustainable, consistent with legislation and and will enhance our city.
âI want to make this scheme a success.
âIf there are reasons, outwith our control, the scheme is held up by other factors, I would like to point out that 4%, 5%, 7% or 8% of nothing is precisely nothing.â
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warned councillors against a âheadlong rush to be the firstâ to introduce the charge.
Garry Clark, FSBâs development manager for Edinburgh and the east of Scotland, said earlier: âEdinburghâs small accommodation providers havenât yet been given all the information necessary to plan for the potential impact on them.â
UK Hospitality Scotland welcomed that the implementation would only take place in October.
Executive director Leon Thompson said: âNot only has Edinburghâs visitor levy been confirmed, but so too has the hit to the cityâs competitiveness as a leading tourist destination.
âOur fundamental concern has always been that this levy will only serve to make visitorsâ trips to Edinburgh more expensive, ultimately reducing their spending in the wider visitor economy and deterring future visits.
âItâs now the job of the council to use these funds wisely to improve the capitalâs attractiveness as a visitor destination and mitigate the impact of the levy on businesses.â
Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev both responded after Djokovic was booed by fans after retiring during their Australian Open semifinal match
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
From a vintage-inspired T-shirt and candle, to vinyl LP of 'A Complete Unknown,' we found the best Timothee Chalamet fan merch and gifts to buy online
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The woman believes he was â??clearly orderingâ?? ingredients used to make poison ricin, the BBC reported.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The storm has caused travel disruption across the country, with flights and trains delayed or cancelled.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The historian running the memorial to the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp has spoken out against tech billionaire Elon Musk, in an interview this week with The Times of London.Jens-Christian Wagner, who runs the memorial to the notorious camp near Weimar that held hundreds of thousands of Jewish,...
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
A key agreement in a massive settlement was reportedly overlooked while vetting the script, leaving producers scrambling to do rewrites and reshoots.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Viewers were left in tears after the elimination
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The tense final episode saw ‘seer’ Francesca Rowan-Plowden discover Charlotte Berman’s identity as a traitor.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott started off this year with broken hearts as news emerged they had split after six years - but the Made In Chelsea star has his sister to lean on
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
EKIN-SU Cülcülo?lu and Ronnie Vint have come to blows in the Love Island All Stars villa – and fans can’t get enough. The pair yelled at each other across the garden in a very fiery exc…
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.