SO a tourist tax "will threaten vital investment in the hotel industry" according to hotel owner Calum Ross from Oban ("Leading Scots hoteliers warn tourist tax will hammer jobs", Herald Business, March 4). And "risks killing the goose that lays the golden egg", say leading hotel owners. This is such nonsense. We have heard it all before and will no doubt do so again before the Scottish Government legislates in the coming months to permit the charging of a tourist tax or Transient Visitor Levy (TVL).
What is a far greater threat to tourism in hotspots like Edinburgh is the extortionate room rates that hotels charge just now. That surely is what fuels "perceptions that that Scotland is one of the most expensive visitor destinations in the world". It shocks me to read about the rates and to wonder why people continue to come to this city. Maybe one day they won't.
One thing is certain, the introduction of a TVL will be marginal and will not be the cause. To add an additional £2 a night, which is what Edinburgh City Council is proposing, is only about two per cent at this time of year. Come the summer months and the Festival, when rates reach eye-watering levels of £200-£300 or more, it will be less than one per cent extra.
What is also a real threat to tourism is the desperate state of the city fabric and the huge pressure on dwindling council services. I wonder if these hotel owners have actually taken time to look at the state of Edinburgh, not just at the height of the season but at any time in the year. We have cracked pavements, overflowing bins, congested streets and litter-strewn pubic places.
A TVL will be money that goes to the council and can be spent on keeping the city clean and in good repair. It will not be income to hoteliers and owners of holiday lets, profits that so often leave the city. It should save our precious council taxes for meeting the service needs of Edinburgh residents.
Scotland is behind the curve when it comes to charging visitors to its cities. Other European countries have long felt the need for this. A brief web search reveals mere than 20 cities with varying forms of the tax. Charges levied by these per night range from 50p in Prague to five per cent and more in Berlin and Amsterdam. That equates to about £15 in Edinburgh at peak season. Many cities across the world are feeling the pressures from growing tourist numbers and have decided to act.
So hoteliers, stop bleating and get real. The wind is changing, the golden egg may be a little smaller, but you will adjust if you have any sense and wish to stay in business.
Wendy Hebard,
9/10 Tron Square, Edinburgh.
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