Edinburgh Tourist Tax

Over 4000 votes so far on Cornwall Live and 72% of locals are voting Yes to a tourist tax here - for all the reasons TW has mentioned, plus the cost of policing places like Newquay in the summer months.

David, your last sentence comes across with a real blasé attitude attached to it.To you the tax would obviously be modest , but to others maybe not .

First of all the tax in Venice will be per person per day including day trippers, so staying at a hotel for say 4 nights will cost an extra 80€. Not peanuts. I can understand day trippers not blanching at 10€ for a one off visit.

Secondly, I do feel sorry for the SW and also parts of Scotland but once again the responsible visitor will be paying for the irresponsibility of the oiks who don't clean up after themselves and who cause trouble.

Both ray and ttda have made valid points about councils being starved of cash but also proliferate in their spending. There isn't an easy answer but I would like to see heftier fines imposed on those causing the anti social behaviour and the monies raised going to the councils affected. 

£2 a day wouldn't stop me visiting somewhere but I just hate more taxes. I pay enough already.

EasyT. As a UK citizen youve probably paid 100 times between earning and spending it. We are taxed every way we turn so I agree.

It's not blasé in my view, all I am trying to introduce is a sense of perspective and realism. People can of course vote with their feet and not go to these places, their choice. All I was pointing out was that in the scheme of things £2 a night person is not a lot given the cost of travelling to a place, accommodation and the likely  cost of meals and coffees when out and about. But as I said previously I feel that £2 a night is too high and a lower sum would find more acceptability amongst visitors. 

David

From a tourism point of view a coach party or similar touring Britain the potential £2 tax on each place could be quite considerable. I think if the UK wants visitors from without or within taxing them is not the best idea.

The Tax in Venice is set to try to discourage, as when we were there it was over run with cruise ship passengers,as is happening in numerouse places around the world now,

I think the problem in Venice is the number of cruise ship that visit and disgorge 2-4000 people at a time for relatively short stays with relatively little benefit to local businesses. With the increase in cruising as a popular holiday choice there could be many ships visiting at the same time. When we go we stay at Punta Sabbioni and usually buy three or seven day ferry tickets so that we can visit all the Islands and the Lido. It wasn't that many years ago there was no such thing as  Air Passenger Duty but it doesn't seemed to have stopped people travelling by air?

Local authorities are strapped for cash. We have one near us which is virtually bankrupt. Probably not the place to discuss the whys and wherefores but the alternative seems to be a massive increase in local taxation.  That means local residents bear the brunt whereas a tourist tax is paid by people that only visit a place now and again so in effect are less likely to notice it.

David

The only people likely to pay a tourist tax are those people who stay overnight within the city boundaries such as in hotels etc. Yet the day visitors, commuters and delivery people can produce their own pressures, sometimes more so than those tourists, so how do you go about taxing them? They need the infrastructure, waste removal, power supply, policing, carparks etc. just the same ss the tourist. How many people earn their living as a result of the tourist? In some parts of the UK they rely almost exclusively on the money that the tourist brings in yet those same tourists will be asked to contribute even more. I do think Venice is a separate case.

I wonder how much of an outcry there would be if Edinburgh banned tourism for say a month. Not going to happen I know but it seems that the tourist is an easy target.

Cash strapped councils are almost universal in ths UK. This is what happens when the price of everything is put in front of the value of everything.

Well another way you will see local fund raising manifest itself is when towns and cities introduce congestion/environment vehicle charges. I think Bath is already consulting on this and they were also mentioned as a possible tourist tax place. So that would be a double whammy.