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Welcome
What a pivotal role to play in the future health and success of Edinburgh.
As the inaugural Chair of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Forum, you will help to develop groundbreaking investment plans for Scotland’s first ever visitor levy. You will play an integral role measuring and assessing the success of the levy itself.
This is a unique opportunity to lead the way for visitor levies nationally and to contribute towards the investment of tens of millions of pounds towards sustaining, supporting, and developing Edinburgh’s worldwide appeal as a place to live and visit.
Edinburgh is where centuries of history meet a vibrant, green, and cosmopolitan city. We welcome five million visitors a year from all over the world, making our capital city a major centre for tourism and a gateway for visitors to experience the rest of Scotland.
This is the home of the biggest arts festival in the world and countless greenspace and tourism accolades. With not only one, but two, UNESCO World Heritage sites and awe-inspiring views, Edinburgh provides an unparalleled backdrop for international blockbuster movies, conferences, and global artists alike. It remains the UK’s most prosperous economy outside of London and continues to attract investment to create new visitor attractions, retail offerings and hotels.
Yet, Edinburgh is also home to over 500,000 people whose lives and local services are directly affected by tourism. We are grappling with a growing population, a housing emergency, ambitious climate goals and pressures on local government finances. From clean streets to culture, we need to invest now in the things which make Edinburgh a great place to be.
All eyes will be on us as the first city in the UK to bring forward a levy of this scale. At all stages we’ve listened to, and taken account of, the views of industry, residents, visitors other stakeholders, and you will have the chance to continue this city-wide engagement as we develop innovative spending investment programmes.
We believe Edinburgh’s levy could raise up to £100m in the first three years. The effects will be transformative, providing the biggest new funding stream for the city since National Lottery Funding was established over 30 years ago.
We’ve always said this is a city fund and spending decisions will need to be taken with the interests of the whole city in mind. We are now excited to see what opportunities for investment the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Forum brings forward.
Council Leader, Jane Meagher
