How tourist tax is helping Edinburgh festivals promote the 'flowering of the human spirit' – Jane Meagher

We’re proud to bring some of the world’s best arts and culture here each summer. From the Jazz and Blues Festival in July, through to the Fringe, Art, Film, Book, Military Tattoo and International festivals in August, we’re truly spoiled for choice in the culture capital of the world.

I’m pleased that 2026 has been a positive year for our festivals. The numbers paint a picture of another successful summer, with the Fringe reporting a record-breaking year featuring over 4,000 shows and more than 2.8 million tickets issued. Elsewhere, the Book Festival saw proportionally more tickets sold on a smaller programme alongside a 20 per cent increase in footfall.

READ MORE: I was looking forward to the Edinburgh Festival, but now I feel too old

Festival is not just for visitors

It’s fantastic to see more residents than ever making the most of what’s on offer. Over half of International Festival tickets were sold to Edinburgh residents, and 41 local schools, charities and community groups benefited from the Fringe Days Out scheme. A lot of people think the festival is just for visitors, but the evidence tells a different story.

Meanwhile, more than 5,500 artists benefited from services at the new Fringe Central hub on Infirmary Street – a building we made available at no cost so the Fringe could have a new permanent home. This is just one example of the support we continue to provide to our festivals – financially and strategically behind the scenes.

Aside from the cultural benefits our festivals bring to the city, it’s important to remember how vital they are to our economy. It’s estimated they have a positive financial effect on the city of around £600 million annually, generated by visitors spending on overnight stays, transport, food, drink and tickets. The city’s tourism sector alone employs around 40,000 people. Beyond that, of course, it affords us, as residents, a choice of restaurants, bars, and other attractions that we simply wouldn’t have otherwise.

None of this happens by accident and it’s thanks to considerable work and support from our officers and partners that these festivals run so smoothly each year. For all these benefits, however, this also comes at a cost – to the council and the city. Despite the billions of pounds that the festivals bring to Edinburgh every year, historically none of this has come to the council.

READ MORE: Visitor levy to cost Edinburgh festivals more than £1.1 million a year as crunch meeting looms

Visitor levy delivering for Edinburgh

With that in mind, in July we became the UK’s first local authority to introduce a visitor levy, with the aim of sustaining Edinburgh's status as one of the world's greatest cultural and heritage cities and ensuring our successful visitor economy is managed effectively in support of our priorities as a city.

We have already agreed how to invest over £90m of visitor levy revenue over the next three years, and this will help us manage the impacts of the visitor economy on the capital and support our world-class culture, heritage and events. Funds have been allocated to support a range of public services and infrastructure projects that benefit everyone – including our festivals.

It’s early days, but the levy is already delivering for our city. This includes increased police presence on our streets, investment in parks, and new bins, with plans agreed for new public toilets. Visitor levy funds also allowed us to bring back the Festival Carnival, an event enjoyed by thousands of residents and visitors in July.

If any more evidence was needed, our combined £8m investment in Leith Theatre and the former Royal High School as a new national centre for music is testament to our commitment to sustain Edinburgh’s reputation as a world-class cultural destination and ensure some of the city’s oldest buildings are fit for the future.

I’ve said from the outset that it’s fundamental that visitor levy funding does not just benefit one or two postcodes but communities across the city. We want to spread the levy’s benefits and enhance the visitor experience well beyond the Royal Mile and the New Town.

A range of new funding streams means community groups, businesses, and others will benefit from the levy funding well into the future. Last week we announced details of new grants for businesses to apply for up to £15,000 to enhance the visitor experience. Thanks to the levy, communities will benefit from a share of a new £2m pot which will allow residents to decide how the money is spent in their area.

READ MORE: Nicola Benedetti's warning over Edinburgh International Festival's future must be taken seriously

Bringing people together

As a council, we’re proud to continue to support our festivals, as we have done since the 1940s. Last year alone the total value of support to Edinburgh’s festivals was just under £3.6m. Not to mention the in-kind support we provide, including practical guidance from council officers.

We’ve clearly heard the views of festival organisers and, on Thursday, councillors will agree next year’s funding settlement which, thanks to the visitor levy, will include an uplift. A fully redesigned cultural funding programme will be agreed early next year, with funding in place from April 2028.

I want to continue conversations with the festivals in a constructive and positive way and I will stress again: my door is always open.

When the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir John Falconer, described his ambition for the International Festival of Music and Drama in 1947, two years after the end of the Second World War, he said it should provide “a platform of the flowering of the human spirit”.

As we prepare to mark the festival’s 80th anniversary, we continue to honour these beginnings and work together to foster the special ability of our festivals to bring people together.

Jane Meagher is leader of Edinburgh City Council