Edinburgh to press on with tax on tourism

EDINBURGH councillors have rejected calls for a delay to the new tourist tax to give the industry more time to prepare.

- By David Walker Scottish Politics Reporter

Councillors approved plans for a 5% visitor levy earlier this year, with no opt-out for Scottish residents or even those visiting relatives in hospital or attending funerals.

From October 1, anyone booking rooms in Edinburgh from July 24 next year onwards will have to pay the tax. This means people attending the Edinburgh festivals will be the first to have to cough up.

An application for a delay until January 1 was put forward, with Tory councillor Iain Whyte claiming that hotel and B&B providers weren’t ready.

And tourism bodies wrote to the local authority to warn them that their October 1 start date was untenable.

Gamble