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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Severin Carrell, Rachel Keenan, Steven Morris and Hannah Al-Othman

Millions of tourists in UK could be asked to pay local visitor levy

People walk down a busy street
Princes Street in Edinburgh. The city expects to raise up to £50m a year from a 5% surcharge on overnight stays from July 2026. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Millions of tourists to the UK could soon be asked to pay a local visitor levy as cash-strapped councils try to raise money to fund services.

Nearly half of Scotland’s local councils are considering a mandatory levy on overnight stays, known as a tourist tax, to help cope with a surge in visitors that has overwhelmed places such as Skye, the Callanish stones on Lewis and Orkney’s neolithic sites.

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