As Edinburgh prepares for the introduction of the Visitor Levy on Friday 24 July, the Council is providing ongoing support to businesses in the visitor economy.
A new Visitor Levy team has been visiting accommodation providers across the city, answering questions and helping to explain what businesses need to do to prepare for the levy. They have also been encouraging sign-ups to the online platform for submitting levy returns and making their payments, the first of which are due in October.
The Council has also prepared a range of display materials to help businesses to explain the levy to their guests, summarising key information and the benefits the scheme will bring to the city. This includes a Q&A document covering the most commonly asked questions by visitors.
Council Leader Jane Meagher said:
With two weeks to go until the official introduction of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy, I’m very aware of how our busy the city’s accommodation providers already are and want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support them.
We’ve been in regular touch with industry representatives throughout the process and I’m extremely grateful to them for their constructive feedback and support. We know their guests will have questions of their own about the levy, how it works and how the funds will be invested – and we’ve developed a range of materials to share with guests and direct them to the most up-to-date information about the scheme.
We’re the first city in the UK to introduce a visitor levy of this scale, and we’ve built our approach around engagement and support. This is a big opportunity for us all to work together and enhance Edinburgh’s position as one of the most popular visitor destinations in the world.
Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy scheme was formally agreed in January 2025.
The levy applies to paid overnight accommodation booked after 1 October 2025, if the stay takes place from 24 July 2026 onwards. It is a 5% payment on the accommodation-only cost and applies to the first 5 nights’ stay.
The scheme is projected to raise up to £50 million a year to invest in protecting, supporting and enhancing Edinburgh’s worldwide appeal as a place to visit and live.
The first full set of investment programmes for funding raised by the levy was agreed earlier this year, and will be directed through three well-defined themes: City Operations and Infrastructure; Culture, Heritage and Events; and Destination and Visitor Management.