The City of Edinburgh Council has voted to enforce a 5% charge on overnight stays in a bid to use the area’s booming tourist trade to the local authority’s advantage.

Those visiting Scotland’s capital will have to pay a 5%-per-night fee for up to seven nights when staying at hotels, B&Bs and other holiday accommodation from July 24, 2026.

But while councillors are understandably excited about a maximum £50 million annual boost to their finances, commentators on social media are all raising the same concern about overnight stays in the city frequently ranked among the best in the UK and the world.

One person wrote: “I do wish the papers would stop referring to this as a tourist tax. “This will hit anyone who has to stay in Edinburgh. People from the borders needing to attend a day hospital appointment, families clearing out a deceased relative’s home. It will not just impact tourists.”

Others also criticised the lack of exemptions for non-holidaying visitors on social media, with one writing: “[This] is NOT a tourist tax - families visiting people in hospital will be taxed, workers coming to work will be taxed”.

“It is a tax on anyone who is staying [in Edinburgh] for ANY reason,” another added. “Whether it’s business, socialising, family emergency or sheer pleasure.”

“Anyone working in the area staying in a hotel will pay [this] tax,” a fourth person said. “They aren’t ‘tourists’, are they? The result will be those costs passed onto local people in Edinburgh through cost increases.”

Council leader Jane Meagher has described the tax as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to invest in the city, which has only been possible since the Scottish Parliament passed legislation giving councils the authority to introduce the charge last year.

Other European cities have already implemented similar taxation measures, including Amsterdam’s hefty 12.5% levy and Berlin’s recently increased 7.5% charge - both contributing to investment in local infrastructure and maintenance. 

While Edinburgh’s equivalent won’t come into effect until next July, a nine month transition phase means bookings paid for after October 1, 2025, may be liable for the extra 5% cost.

UK Hospitality Scotland has cautioned the City of Edinburgh Council against the move, suggesting that it will “only serve to make visitors’ trips more expensive, ultimately reducing their spending in the wider visitor economy and deterring future visits”.

“Not only has Edinburgh’s visitor levy been confirmed, but so too has the hit to the city’s competitiveness as a leading tourist destination,” executive director Leon Thompson said.

“It’s now the job of the council to use these funds wisely to improve the capital’s attractiveness as a visitor destination and mitigate the impact of the levy on businesses,” he added.