Monday June 29th 2026
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
The consultation on a draft Visitor Levy Scheme for East Lothian is now underway, after councillors unanimously gave the go ahead at a meeting of East Lothian Council on Tuesday 23 June.
The draft scheme has been prepared following a process of evidence gathering, stakeholder engagement and financial analysis. A 12-week statutory consultation has now been launched, including an online survey open to everyone alongside direct engagement with accommodation providers, businesses, community representatives and others with an interest in East Lothian’s visitor economy.
The consultation invites views on all aspects of the Draft Visitor Levy Scheme, including itsvbpurpose and objectives, levy design, exemptions, governance arrangements and the proposed use of net proceeds. Alongside the consultation, the council will continue to refine its evidence base, including further economic modelling and appraisal, before a final report is presented to Council later this year.
A visitor levy is a charge applied to overnight stays in paid accommodation, paid by visitors and collected by accommodation providers, with proceeds ring fenced for tourism related purposes.
Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council’s Spokesperson for Environment, Economic Development and Tourism, said: “Tourism makes a significant contribution to East Lothian’s economy and supports local businesses, jobs and communities but visitor activity can also place additional demands on infrastructure, facilities and services – particularly during busy periods. We are exploring the possibility of a visitor levy for East Lothian as it has the potential to generate additional funding which would be used in accordance with the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 to support, develop or sustain facilities and services substantially for or used by visitors.
“We have already carried out engagement work to prepare the draft levy, with a recent visitor survey showing the majority of day trippers and holidaymakers in favour of paying an additional small charge. Accommodation providers had concerns including how much of a burden applying the additional charge would place on them. This consultation will help inform any changes to the draft scheme, taking account of the responses, questions and concerns raised so that when a further report is brought back to Council later this year, we can be confident the proposals fit the needs of East Lothian’s tourism industry and communities. Council would then take a vote on whether to introduce the scheme. It is important to emphasise that no decisions have been taken at this stage. This is a consultation in which we will be engaging with all interested parties.”
The draft East Lothian levy currently proposes a five per cent charge on top of accommodation costs, which would be collected by accommodation providers via a nationally managed digital portal. This means that a one-night stay costing £100 would incur a Visitor Levy of £5 or a one- night stay costing £60 would incur a Visitor Levy of £3. The levy would apply to the accommodation charge only and would not apply to charges for meals, drinks, parking or other services.
The charge would apply to hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering accommodation (including short term lets), hostels and paid camping and caravanning accommodation located within East Lothian. The current proposal is that accommodation providers would retain two per cent of the levy collected to contribute towards their administration costs. It is estimated that the scheme would generate approximately £1.2 million per year to be spent on facilities mainly used by visitors.
National legislation requires a minimum implementation period of 18 months before a scheme could be introduced, meaning any levy would not commence before spring 2028, if approved by Council at a meeting later this year.
If a levy is introduced, a Visitor Levy Forum would be established, bringing together representatives from tourism businesses, communities and other relevant organisations to provide advice on the operation of the scheme and use of net proceeds.
The survey is now open on the East Lothian Consultation Hub with direct engagement work with stakeholders to follow.
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