Edinburgh council bosses call for 'tourist tax' after Queen's death visitor numbers

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Edinburgh council bosses have called for a 'tourist tax' following a huge spike in visitors to the city following the Queen's death.

Chiefs said the taxes could bring in £15 million extra a year. Stats show the tourism industry in the city supports around 30,000 local jobs, with overnight visitors spending over £1.9billion a year.

City of Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day hopes to bring forward a timeline for the levy in November - and said 85 per cent of locals and businesses supported the tax.

He warned the city will struggle to manage large scale events in the future without investment. Edinburgh would be the first city in the UK to introduce the tax.Mr Day said: "The scenes in the last ten days from Edinburgh's response to the death of the Queen were exceptional."And I have no doubt that these stunning images of our city, which were beamed around the world to billions of people, will translate into even more interest in Edinburgh as an incredible place to visit."This is, of course, hugely welcome - particularly for businesses following the hardship of the pandemic and in the face of steep inflation.