Edinburgh: Voluntary Hotel TaxEdinburgh's tourists to face UK's first voluntary hotel bed tax By TTM on 05 March 2007 in News |
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Tourism leaders are planning to introduce the UK's first voluntary bed tax in Edinburgh, to raise up to £5m a year to protect the city's cultural heritage. A compulsory levy imposed by the city council has been rejected by businesses as it would damage the capital's ability to compete with other European destinations, such as Dublin and Paris. But a report commissioned by Edinburgh Tourism Action Group says voluntary schemes in other cities have proved successful in raising funds for tourism-related projects while avoiding the pitfalls of a statutory tax. Edinburgh's hotels and guesthouses, which would collect the levy, provide around 12,000 beds per night. Consultant Deloitte Touche has calculated that with, on average, 78% of beds occupied every night, a £1 levy could raise more than £3m and a £2 levy around £5m. If the scheme goes ahead, funds could be spent on environmental initiatives and cultural projects to enhance the city's appeal to tourists. Simon Williams, of ETAG, said: "Studies have found that if you ask people in the right way to contribute towards a destination then there is a good response. ETAG will now be looking at whether this can be applied to Edinburgh." One motivating factor was that public funds from bodies such as the city council, the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise may be cut in future because of other priorities. CommentsBe the first to leave a comment Add Your CommentPlease note: all comments will be manually verified by our staff before appearing on the site. Please do not try and spam and do not use offending language. If you want to be notified when your post has been published, add your email address below. Related ItemsScotland, more than Haggis and BagpipesMore flights for Eastern Travel Guide: 24 hours in Edinburgh Herd The Moos Five Great Cycle Rides Six Halloween destinations in Europe Happiest Places in the World to Visit In search of the Northern Lights Gold lures tourists to Tyndrum Village, Scotland Where would fathers prefer to be whisked away this Father's Day? Do you know what a haggis is? Top Ten Places Where To Celebrate New Year Climb a Corbett Seabird City Falls Quiet Ryanair Cancels Flights at Edinburgh News Archives |








