Scotland’s capital has become the first city in the UK to start funding its convention bureau through a mandatory tourist tax – or ‘visitor levy’
– in what could herald the start of major changes to how cities across the
country attract business events and conference tourism.
The future of Business Events Edinburgh was secured for the
next three years after it was promised £400,000 per annum from the levy, which
will be raised by hotels adding a five per cent surcharge to guest room bills.
Additional funding is expected to come from industry through a tiered
membership system, with venues and other suppliers chipping in.
The levy came into effect last Friday and could generate
£50m for the city.
The move comes as other
Scottish cities - including Glasgow and Aberdeen - mull plans for
their own levies and as the UK government weighs up giving city mayors and
local authorities in England powers to raise visitor levies - a scenario
fiercely opposed by hospitality groups who fear tourists will stay away if the
cost of accommodation becomes prohibitive.
Both Manchester and Liverpool have been supporting their
respective convention bureaux through a voluntary version of the visitor tax
since 2023. These have been raised through ABIDs (Accommodation Business
Improvement Districts) where hotels above a certain rateable value have voted
to add a small charge (£1-£2) to guests’ bills to help promote their respective
cities.
The money raised in Manchester goes into a subvention pot,
administered by the convention bureau, to attract large international business
events, while, in Liverpool, the destination marketing organisation that houses
the bureau receives £1m per annum from the ABID.
The Edinburgh visitor levy, on the other hand, is
a statutory tax on accommodation introduced under the Visitor Levy
(Scotland) Act, effective from 24 July 2026, a small share of which will help
fund the bureau until 2029. The levy will be restricted to the first five
nights of each stay and will only be added to the cost of accommodation.
The announcement was welcomed by business events leaders in
Edinburgh where the future of the convention bureau has been uncertain. For
several years it was run by the EICC, the city's biggest convention venue,
before being taken back in-house by the council on a budget of just £150,000 a
year.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
