Kate Garraway and Rob Rinder returned to the Good Morning Britain studio on Friday (July 24) to deliver the day's headlines. Later, they discussed Edinburgh's new tourist tax, which charges overnight visitors an additional 5% on bookings.
During a live interview with Jane Meagher, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, a man was seen making a reverse peace sign behind her. Garraway quickly addressed the incident, saying: 'Just to say, Jane, you won't be aware because you were talking so elegantly to us with the gorgeous vision of Edinburgh behind. But somebody came past doing a rather rude gesture. So, if you're watching at home and you saw, that is no reflection on Jane or indeed Edinburgh.'
Edinburgh's new tourist tax
Meagher explained the tax, stating: 'We've introduced this tax because anybody who lives or works in this city will know that over the years, the number of visitors has risen massively. So, in the latest year where we have figures, there were five million visits a night in this city. This is brilliant for everybody, but inevitably it brings extra cost. We can't have local people paying for that. We want to grow and maintain the city as a visitor attraction, and that is where the visitor levy money will go. It will all be invested into Edinburgh.'
However, Allen Simpson, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, disagreed. Speaking in the studio, he said: 'Jane will say in a minute, I'm absolutely certain, "This is normal. You go to Paris, you go to Berlin, you go to Rome, and you pay these taxes." But in those places, VAT on a hotel room is only 10%, so actually, with this new tax, it's going to cost twice as much to go to Edinburgh than going to Paris.'
The charge aims to raise about £50 million annually for improvements to the capital, including new housing, cultural initiatives, and a wider police presence.
