Tourist tax could raise £2.5m during festivals - Labour

An Edinburgh tourist tax could raise £2.5 million alone during the festival season, Scottish Labour has said.

Previous research by the City of Edinburgh Council found a charge of £1 per person per night for hotels, B&Bs and Airbnb accommodation could generate more than £11 million a year for the capital but Scottish ministers will have to be persuaded to hand over the necessary power to the council before any charge can be introduced.

Labour said it would devolve the power to local government to charge a "tourist tax" and that analysis of the latest Edinburgh festival visitor numbers suggests a £2 per night charge would raise £2.5 million during August, assuming a 90% occupancy rate in accommodation.

It comes as the 2018 festival season draws to a close with both the Edinburgh International Book Festival reporting record visitor numbers and Underbelly having its strongest year for ticket sales with more than 420,000 sold over 22 venues.

The proposed tourism tax sparked a row earlier this year between the Culture Secretary and the leader of Edinburgh City Council.

Plans are also opposed by the Scottish Conservatives but Labour's Communities spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: "Our local communities are in serious need of additional funding, which means we need to urgently look at new ways for local authorities to raise revenues, including a tourist tax.

"Labour analysis suggests that Edinburgh could have raised £2.5million during the festival alone. That is money that could be ploughed back into vital local services.

"With Holyrood due to return next week, Labour will press the SNP government to finally give our local councils more economic power to raise additional revenues and protect services."