Edinburgh City Council has said high visiting costs are “very little to do” with the introduction of a visitor levy, as Scottish Ballet called for assistance to tour in the capital.
Visitor levy to begin Friday
City Council leader Jane Meagher visited Edinburgh City Chambers ahead of the levy coming into place on Friday. Edinburgh is the first authority in Scotland to introduce such a scheme, which will see those staying in hotels, B&Bs, short-term lets and other forms of tourist accommodation charged an additional 5%.
Ms Meagher said it is estimated the levy will raise up to £50 million a year and offer “a huge array of benefits to the city”. She said: “It’ll make the place cleaner, greener, and more sustainable, and will support the arts in the city much more. But will make the visitor experience much, much better with improved lighting, with improved police presence for safety. There’s a huge array of benefits to the city.”
No discernible impact on visitor numbers
She continued: “We’ve done a lot of research into the effect of visitor levies in other cities and other countries and there’s no discernible change to visitor numbers. And I anticipate that, because the city will be able to offer much more, including access to the many hidden gems in this city, that we’ll be able to attract even more visitors. We’ve got two world heritage centres, not just one, we’ve got two, we’ve got castles galore. We’ve got so much for people to see.”
Scottish Ballet warns of unsustainable costs
However, Steven Roth, executive director of Scottish Ballet, said: “The economics of touring to Edinburgh are fast becoming unsustainable.” The Glasgow-based dance company said its bill for housing its touring company of up to 150 performers and crew in the capital had risen by 72% between December 2019 and December 2025 – and now tops more than £200,000. To help with the costs, it has called on Edinburgh City Council to introduce an exemption or relief scheme to the new visitor levy for Scotland’s national performing arts companies – four out of five of which are based in Glasgow.
Council blames hotel costs
Ms Meagher said the rising costs are mainly due to “hotel costs” which is not something the council “has any control over”. She said: “Costs in the capital are very little to do with visitor levy, they’re mainly to do with hotel costs. Now, this is a much wider issue because, of course, if you go to Glasgow just now, because of the Commonwealth Games, costs go up. Similarly, with golf going on in East Lothian, hotel costs go up. That’s the issue. It’s not the visitor levy, and that’s not something that we as a council have any control over. The important thing about the visitor levy is it’s money that’s going to come in and stay in the city and be invested in the city.” She continued: “I would say to Scottish Ballet that I would point them to sources of funding that come from the visitor level. I mean, they already get funding from us.”
