Edinburgh will soon charge hotel guests an extra 5% tax, and the idea is catching on fast across the UK, impacting hotels, short-term rentals, and cruise lines.
A cascade of tourist tax proposals is sweeping across the UK after Edinburgh became the first British city to approve a 5% hotel bed tax starting July 2026.
Edinburgh’s move, announced last August, has triggered a wave of similar tourist tax proposals across Britain as cash-strapped local governments eye taking a cut of tourism revenue while making it costlier to visit.
Half of Scotland’s local authorities are now developing similar levies, with Wales poised to vote on its own tourist tax legislation this summer, and some UK cruise ports are considering levies on passengers, too.
Wales is advancing similar visitor levy legislation, which would also introduce licensing requirements for hotels and short-term rentals. Northern Ireland is exploring comparable measures.
The tourism tax trend reflects broader tensions over tourism’s economic impact. While visitors bring spending, they also strain infrastructure and drive up housing costs. Tourist taxes offer local governments a way to capture revenue while potentially managing visitor flows. But local businesses say they could hurt overall tourism revenue.
