Culture cash to IT jitters: What the 'tourist tax' will mean for Edinburgh
Plus: Galleries closure warning; and chef arrives from ‘the world’s best restaurant’
Capital set for UK first as it takes ‘tourist tax’ plunge
The Capital is set to go all in on its ‘tourist tax’ plans by approving by far the most ambitious scheme yet seen in the UK.
Six years after starting work on a visitor levy, councillors are expected to approve the city-wide scheme in two crucial votes on Friday and next week.
The charge is expected to raise up to £50m a year to tackle the impact of large-scale tourism on the city and support the sustainable development of the industry which employs nearly 40,000 people in Edinburgh.
Council leader Jane Meagher has described the scheme as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” which will provide “the single biggest injection of new funding (to the city) this side of the Millennium”, while industry leaders have warned of the risk of putting off visitors and the potential knock-on effect on jobs.
Edinburgh’s scheme will be the first mandatory city-wide visitor levy in the UK. Other UK cities have introduced smaller scale levies, such as a £2 a night charge in larger hotels in Bournemouth and a £1 surcharge on accommodation in 74 hotels and serviced apartments in Manchester city centre, but nothing on this scale.
What will it all mean for Edinburgh?
Who will pay? In many ways ‘tourist tax’ is a misnomer, as all of Edinburgh’s approximately five million annual overnight visitors will have to pay the levy, whether they are from Scotland or overseas, and regardless if they are here for business or leisure. Anyone staying in hotels, B&Bs, hostels, Airbnb and campsites will have to pay, which will be capped at five nights.
When? Accommodation providers will have to start applying it to advance bookings from May onwards for anyone staying in Edinburgh from next summer.
Tourist deterrent? Some have warned it will put off visitors, particularly as Edinburgh is already viewed as an expensive place to visit, with higher taxes including VAT at 20% than most European destinations. For example, the current rate of VAT on hotel accommodation is 10% in Barcelona. Supporters point to tourist taxes being commonplace across Europe and beyond with little discernible impact on visitor numbers.
Euro comparison: Edinburgh’s 5% levy is far smaller than the 12.5% applied in Amsterdam, but the Dutch city (which started with a 5% surcharge in 2018) is an outlier. Visitors to Barcelona will generally pay a smaller visitor levy than they will in Edinburgh, at 4.25 Euros up to 6.75 Euros a night in a 5-star hotel (roughly £3.50 up to £5.50).
Culture cash: Culture, heritage and events, including the city’s festivals, are expected to receive up to £15m a year once the levy is up and running, making it one of the big ‘tourist tax’ winners.
But a ‘Festivals tax’: Festival performers and technical staff will not be exempt, so will have to pay the visitor levy on top of already sky high accommodation costs. The cap on chargeable nights for the levy has been reduced from seven nights to five in order to reduce the impact on such workers.
Cleaner streets: Up to £24m a year will go to “city operations and infrastructure”, which means things like street cleaning in visitor hot spots, graffiti removal, maintaining parks, improved lighting and CCTV, and underground bins. That is likely to go not just to the city centre but also popular coastal spots like Portobello and Cramond.
Housing boost: The council intends to commit £5m a year to meet borrowing costs and enable a £70m investment in housebuilding on projects which are currently economically unviable. The idea is to create mid-market housing to help tourism industry staff who struggle to find affordable accommodation in the city. It is as yet unclear whether the council will attempt to give these workers priority on the new housing and how that might work. To meet the terms of the legislation, the council must be able to evidence direct or indirect benefit to the visitor sector.
Community funds: Around £1m a year is to be given to community projects as part of a “participatory budget” programme. The cash will be divided evenly between all council wards, in a move seemingly designed to try to ensure buy-in from all communities and their local councillors.
Marketing push: The relaunch of a dedicated marketing bureau similar to the one Barcelona funds through its tourist tax was one of the main hopes of the city’s tourist industry. Around £4.5m a year will go towards destination management, including efforts to promote year-round tourism (to support year-round jobs) and entice fewer but higher spending tourists. That is less than the sector had hoped. The council is yet to commit to a relaunching a dedicated marketing organisation in line with Edinburgh’s Tourism 2030 Strategy created by the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group of which the council is a member.
IT fears: Accommodation providers will need to start adding the levy to advance bookings from May for stays in the city from next summer. However, the new national booking system to be used in all local authorities which adopt a visitor levy is still under development. That has led to fears of a repeat of teething problems which have affected previous IT projects.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
GALLERIES CLOSURE WARNING: The National Galleries of Scotland has warned MSPs it may have to consider temporary gallery closures as it needs at least £40m to maintain its ageing buildings. The Modern Art Gallery Two closed for around six months over the winter of 2022-23 to save money in the face of spiralling energy bills. The National Galleries run the two modern art galleries, the National Gallery on the Mound and the Portrait Gallery.
FIREWORKS TO STAY: Edinburgh’s Hogmamany organisers intend to continue staging firework displays despite concerns about the impact of the noise pollution. The death of two red pandas at Edinburgh Zoo were blamed on the stress caused by the loud bangs. Unique Assembly said: “The introduction of new technologies such as drones are reviewed annually, and whilst we continuously look at enhancing and developing content, drones are currently not something which are viable for the event due to cost and city centre logistics.”
SUMMERHALL’S BACK: Summerhall has confirmed it is planning to stage a full-scale Fringe programme again this summer. It comes after a winding up order against the operator was lifted allowing it to pay money owed to performers from last year’s festival.
JACK’S BACK: Jack Lowden, the Scottish actor and Edinburgh Filmhouse patron, is starting filming on a sixth series of the smash hit Apple TV spy drama Slow Horses with Gary Oldman and Kirstin Scott Thomas.
FARM AND FORGE: Gorgie City Farm is set to reopen in partnership with the community enterprise Edinburgh Forge. The new operators, Gorgie Community Farm Ltd, are planning a community garden, allotments and play area. It will be several years before animals potentially return to the site, following two years of closure and financial challenges experienced by previous operators. Edinburgh Forge which teaches woodwork, metalwork and other crafts is moving to Gorgie from its base in Fountainbridge.
SEASIDE STABBING: A teenager has been seriously injured after being stabbed in Portobello in what police are describing as a targeted attack. The 18-year-old was stabbed close to the promenade, in Bath Street, at about 6.40pm on Friday. Detectives say two suspects were wearing balaclavas and left the scene on e-bikes.
PITCH PLANS: George Watson’s College has applied for planning permission to install to all-weather artificial sports pitches at its playing fields at Myreside.
THE BUSINESS
New venture adds to city’s thriving fine-dining
A chef from the world-leading Noma restaurant in Copenhagen – several times named as the best in the world – is to open a new venture in Edinburgh which promises to add to the capital’s fine-dining scene.
On 29 January Henry Dobson will launch a Scandi-inspired restaurant in Stockbridge. The new “farm to table” eatery will be called Moss and will seat 26 covers in the premises formerly occupied by Satine Saint Stephen in St Stephen Street.
He trained in Cork, and in the Michelin 3-starred Noma, before moving to London where he worked as a Head Chef, and then in Japan where he worked in two Michelin-starred restaurants, and Moss will work closely with organic local suppliers to showcase the best of Scottish produce.
Dobson and his wife, artist Akiko, have created a minimalist dining room – including crockery and tables made by themselves. Dobson will be supported by a team who have worked at restaurants including Michelin-starred Heron in Edinburgh and the three-Michelin-starred Ledbury in London.
He said: “Moss is the culmination of two years of solid R&D and I can’t wait to open our doors and share our perspective on what we think is possible with Scotland’s diverse palette of ingredients. My team and I are excited to amalgamate the best of Scotland’s local makers and producers and find our niche amongst the incredible scene of restaurants in Edinburgh.”
SPORT STORE SHUTS: Nike is to close its factory store at Craigleith Retail Park, with 30 staff affected, on 26th of January. It is understood that the store, which sells discounted sports and leisure ware, is shutting after Nike was unable to agree a new lease with its landlord.
INFLATION SET TO RISE: Analysts are anticipating another increase in inflation, possibly to 2.8% from its current level of 2.6%, when the Office for National Statistics reveals the consumer price index rate for the past 12 months later this week.
NEW MAN AT HELM: Edinburgh-based Miller Homes has appointed Richard Akers as its new Chair. He brings a wealth of leadership experience and sector insight to the role, having previously led the board at Redrow PLC and nearly ten years in non-executive director roles with Barratt Developments PLC.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
SUPERB SHYLOCK: The New York Times has described English-American actor John Douglas Thompson as “perhaps the greatest Shakespeare interpreter in contemporary America". You can catch him in his groundbreaking role as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the Royal Lyceum from Saturday until 15 February.
JANUARY BLUES: US stars the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Scots blues rock band King King who made their name touring with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers are the headliners for the January Blues Festival at the Queen’s Hall on Saturday and Sunday.
DEAF PIONEER: Discover the story of the incredible life of deaf pioneer Alexander Blackwood on a city centre walking tour. Edinburgh Deaf Heritage Tour – Alexander Blackwood starts at 11am on Saturday and Sunday.
QUICK BITES
NEW LIFE AT OLD FAVOURITE: Favourite Honeycomb & Co, an award winning neighbourhood restaurant in Bruntsfield, has announced it is to close from 19 January with the retirement of owner Ian D’Annunzio-Green. However, the venue will reopen to become another Pantry eatery, with all staff transferring to the new business.
CAPITAL FOOD: Four of the five Scottish restaurants short-listed for this year’s Good Food Guide awards – due to be held in London next month – are in Edinburgh. In a variety of categories, they are Lyla, Timberyard, Montrose and The Palmerston.