We spoke to the City of Edinburgh Council leader, Cammy Day, about the visitor levy.
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00:00 So you've published this report today which shows the results of a survey into people's views about the tourist tax or visitor levy.
00:09 What does the report tell you?
00:12 So the report tells us we did a survey and nearly 4,000 people responded which has been huge.
00:19 80% of that were local people and the other 20% or so were visitors to the city.
00:24 That report showed us that overall the city welcomes the tourism levy for the city.
00:30 Something that's long overdue for me and that they would like to see that invested in services that benefit the city.
00:38 For people who live and work here as well as encouraging people to come and visit this amazing city.
00:43 So yeah it's a really positive response from nearly 4,000 people.
00:47 I think the visitors in the sample weren't quite so keen.
00:51 Are you worried that the tourist tax could actually deter people from coming to Edinburgh?
00:55 I don't think so. We're one of the best cities in the world.
00:58 We were just again listed last week in Timeout's top cities in the world.
01:02 Of course if you ask somebody would you like to pay a bit more to come and visit Edinburgh
01:05 the answer would probably not be as positive as people who live here and want to see more money invested in the city.
01:10 A levy has been applied across the world for probably decades in some instances and no different here in Edinburgh.
01:17 When we've consulted the sector they're not overly concerned about that now as well.
01:22 They want to help influence how that's spent of course as we go forward.
01:26 But I don't have any worries that the 4 million plus people that already come to Edinburgh
01:32 will be deterred by paying a few pounds more to live in the city for the time they come to experience our amazing festivals or our historic city centres etc.
01:42 And the legislation hasn't actually gone through the Scottish Parliament yet and it's not entirely clear whether it's going to be a percentage or a flat rate.
01:50 And that's a decision the government's going to or the Parliament's going to make.
01:54 But you would prefer it to be a percentage?
01:56 Absolutely. So we've had this debate about a flat rate which every year we would have to debate whether it goes up or down
02:02 and I'm sure that would just create more work for us.
02:05 We've done this review across Europe as well and most cities apply a percentage rate.
02:10 I think it's fairer because a percentage rate where they live in a five star hotel or a small B&B should be appropriate.
02:17 And the legislation currently does have now, it did change to not recommend it, it does now recommend it as a percentage.
02:25 The second draft of the bill will be heard on the 12th of March and there are currently no amendments proposed to that.
02:31 So as far as we see it, whilst I accept it is up to the government to make that decision on that, there are no changes to it not being a percentage.
02:38 So that's what we've asked from the city and I think that's what local authorities across Scotland have asked it to remain as.
02:44 And it looks like the government will support that in the coming weeks and months ahead.
02:49 And then the big question is how much it's going to be and that's a decision for the council.
02:54 You've spoken about 4%. I think the survey showed that the most popular level was 5%.
03:01 Are you happy with that kind of figure?
03:04 I've always said somewhere between 3 and 5 seems right.
03:08 And again, this is feedback we've had from the industry that if it's too low, the impact of what resources we could raise to spend would be too low.
03:16 Nor do we want to go too high and make it unsustainable.
03:19 So somewhere around 3 to 5% was I think the majority and if it's 4 or 5% I think that would be welcome.
03:26 That would create somewhere between £20 and £30+ million on an annual basis for the city, which is a good bit of income for us to invest in the city going forward.
03:35 So yeah, I look forward to it. I think the percentage will be applied and that will give the city along with the industry an opportunity to look at how we best spend that in the city.
03:46 So that is the other big issue, isn't it? How it's going to be spent.
03:49 And the bill is going to have a fairly kind of restrictive, it's a fairly complicated way of wording it, but it basically says that it should be something to do with tourists.
04:01 So what are you hoping to spend the money on?
04:05 So we hope there'll be some minor amendments to that language because just now it uses the word 'substantially used' for the benefit of the tourism sector or industry.
04:13 And I hope we can get that language slightly lessened to allow us to have a much wider spectrum of what we could spend that money on.
04:21 So I've said all along that I accept that it has to support the tourism industry who raise that income. That's what the government have said in their legislation.
04:28 So to support the responsible growth of tourism across the city and promoting tourism and culture is absolutely one of the strands.
04:35 To support the infrastructure that makes tourism great here. But maybe for me, thirdly and most importantly, is that the whole city should benefit from that.
04:43 And there's discussions about endowment funds potentially or a give-in scheme that gives money back to communities who experience tourism.
04:51 And I think that's welcome. Every summer it costs us over a million pound more to keep the city clean and moving because of the increase in tourism.
04:59 Well, that's hugely welcome. It's a drain on resources. Could that type of money replace that and enhance it to make the city an even better place during the summer months?
05:08 And therefore all year round would be one of my welcome.
05:12 If it helps to upgrade a community park in the city that may well be used as a cultural venue or for festivals because we want to share the festivals across the wider city rather than just the city centre.
05:24 And that means that community have a brand new or an upgraded park all year round.
05:29 Then that for me is a win-win for the culture sector and for local communities.
05:33 And how soon do you think we're going to see it actually introduced?
05:36 So the second reading is in March. I believe the next bill will go to around summertime before the recess.
05:44 And then a report will come to Council in August which will set our actual scheme.
05:50 And when that's approved we'll consult with the city. The issue for us is the consultation which again we hope will be changed in the legislation.
05:56 It currently says an 18 month consultation once you have a scheme. We think 18 months is too long.
06:01 We are ready to go in Edinburgh and we would like that consultation period to be shorter.
06:07 I know my colleagues in the Parliament are looking to lobby. They have placed amendments to the bill today.
06:13 So Edinburgh is ready to go with this and I think we'll be an exemplar for the country and I see the whole of the UK in that.
06:20 And I think people will look to learn from what we did. This has been six years or more in the making.
06:25 We've worked hard with the sector, we've worked hard with the community, we've worked very hard with the government.
06:31 The government has been quite sympathetic to our needs here on this bill.
06:35 But we're ready to go. So the shorter period, the legislation says around 2026. I hope it can be in 2025.
06:43 That's great. Thanks very much.