Edinburgh to charge £2-per-night tourist tax?
UPDATE: 17/12/2011. Scottish Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing has announced that there will be no accommodation tax in Edinburgh. The Scottish Government has no intention of giving places the tax raising facilities, so any attempt to introduce one would be considered illegal. You can expect Edinburgh to forget the idea.
A couple of months ago, we revealed that the university town of Cambridge was considering charging a tourist tax in order to preserve Cambridge’s character.
Now word reaches CD-Traveller towers, that Edinburgh is considering charging a £2 per night ‘tourist tax’ to generate extra revenue for the Scottish capital.
Of course Cambridge and Edinburgh aren’t alone in (thinking about) implementing tourist taxes: Vancouver and Venice both introduced tourist taxes earlier this year, to protect their respective cities heritage.
I understand where the cities are coming from but can’t help but question their timing. When families are already feeling financially squeezed, the introduction of a tourist tax could kill both Cambridge and Edinburgh’s tourist trade.
What do you think of the suggested tourist tax? Would you still visit Edinburgh or would the tax force you to think long and hard about checking out Scotland’s capital? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below!
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Another case of greed (RBS and BOS) If the Council were more efficient and not as backward thinking as they are (prime example the tram fiasco) – why should the tourist pay for the inabilities of the council to manage their city