Aberdeen to introduce 7% visitor levy

Aberdeen City Council has approved a 7% visitor levy that will be added to overnight hotel stays as soon as April 2027.

Last week, the council’s finance and resources committee approved the tax, which is predicted to raise up to £6.8m per annum for the Scottish city.

From as soon as 1 April 2027, visitors could expect to pay around £4.90 extra per night on top of the average price of a room in Aberdeen, which costs around £70.

This compares to an average levy of £9 a night on a £180 a night property in Edinburgh, which is set to introduce a 5% fee from July 2026.

Edinburgh was the first Scottish city to approve a visitor levy, followed by Glasgow.

The extra revenue would go towards various projects, such as the Convention Bureau-managed fund to attract major conferences, a Culture and Events Subvention Fund for festivals, a Culture and Sport Partner Fund for various sports organisations and a Cultural Foundation Fund for artists.

Alex McLellan, convener of finance and resources, said: “The income generated from the visitor levy, paid by those visiting the city, will provide a huge boost to our local economy and allow us to invest in bringing major events and conferences here on a more regular basis. 

“Across Europe we are paying similar amounts to stay per night subsidising their thriving economies, and we should do the same to ensure we can compete in terms of attracting both business and leisure tourism to Aberdeen.”

Stephen Gow, chair of VisitAberdeenshire, added: “A well-managed scheme that supports the aims of the region’s Destination Strategy will drive continued growth of Aberdeen’s visitor economy. Aberdeen welcomed 2.2m overnight visits in 2024, contributing to an economic impact from tourism of over £500m. The headroom for growth in the leisure and conference sectors will be fulfilled through effective investment in promotion, events and development of the tourism sector.”

The report to committee stated the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill allows local authorities in Scotland to charge a fee on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. The levy is calculated as a percentage of the chargeable transaction for accommodation.

The local authority can choose the rate and the legislation allows for local authorities to set different rates during particular events, such as arts festivals or special conferences.

However, they are unable to alter the type of accommodation that the levy would apply to and that includes hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation, camping sites, caravan parks, accommodation in a vehicle, or on board a vessel.

In 2023, Manchester became the first UK city to impose a £1 per night city visitor charge to guests staying in city-centre hotels or holiday apartments.