Visitor levy for Edinburgh

Overview

The City of Edinburgh Council is introducing a visitor levy for overnight guests in paid accommodation. If you are planning to stay in Edinburgh on or after 24 July 2026, and you book your stay on or after 1 October 2025, a 5% payment on the cost of the paid, overnight accommodation will be added to your booking.

This small charge will help sustain Edinburgh’s status as a cultural and heritage destination, raising a forecasted £100 million by 2030. Income generated will support public services, cultural programs and city infrastructure, benefiting both visitors and residents.

How will the visitor levy work in Edinburgh?

The levy is paid by the visitor on the accommodation aspect of the booking only. This means that any room add-ons such as food and drink, leisure facility access, parking etc. will not be included in the levy calculations.

In most cases, the levy is paid by the visitor to the accommodation provider. The Council will then collect all levy payments from accommodation providers.

The levy will only be charged on the first 5 nights’ stay, and at the same rate every day of the year.

Anyone who is staying in paid, overnight accommodation will need to pay the levy. This includes tourists, people staying for work or visiting the city for other reasons, including UK and Scottish residents.

What accommodation is included in the levy?

The levy will apply to paid overnight accommodation including: hotels; self-catering apartments; aparthotels; bed and breakfasts; guest houses; hostels; student lets (only when let to visitors and non-Edinburgh students); vehicles or boats (vessels) which mostly stay in one place; holiday/short-term lets; caravan/camp sites.

Some people are exempt from the levy – see the page, Information for visitors on the City of Edinburgh website for details.

We will keep this page updated with further developments.