Edinburgh’s new tourist tax has proved to be divisive ahead of the city’s Fringe Festival, with visitors set to pay more when booking hotels and accommodation going forward. However, many of those performing at the annual event are championing the levy – and they actually don’t think it goes far enough.
The Scottish city became the first in the country to introduce a tourist tax last week, with those staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts and self-catering accommodation being charged an extra five per cent on top of their booking cost. Edinburgh’s council is hoping that the visitor levy, which is capped at five nights, will raise £50m annually to invest back into the city for cultural initiatives, new housing and the police.
