Where tourist tax money goes
Tourist taxes are sold as a small payment towards what visitors use: clean streets, transport, heritage, parks. Where the money really goes depends on the law behind each one. Some must be spent on tourism; others go into general budgets.
In the UK the law ring-fences it
In Scotland, the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 says councils must spend the money on the objectives of their scheme: developing and supporting facilities and services that visitors use (explanatory notes). Edinburgh expects up to about £50 million a year and has set out more than £90 million over three years for city operations and infrastructure, culture, heritage and festivals, and managing visitor numbers.
In Wales, Cardiff expects about £3.5 million a year, spent through a Visitor Levy Partnership Forum with local businesses. England's mayors will have to publish spending plans, which the government expects by March 2028 (details). The hotel-run charges in Manchester and Liverpool pay for marketing, events and conferences, and street cleaning.
Elsewhere
| Place | What the money is for |
|---|---|
| Paris | About three-fifths of each night's tax (for example €3.40 of a 3-star hotel's €5.53) is a 200% surcharge for Île-de-France Mobilités, the region's public transport authority. |
| Hawaii | The 2026 rise to 11% is the "Green Fee", for climate and environmental projects. |
| Bhutan | The Sustainable Development Fee is charged, as the name says, for the country's sustainable development. It's by far the biggest nightly charge anywhere. |
| New Zealand | The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy is for conservation and tourism infrastructure. |
| Galápagos | The entry fee is charged for entering the islands' protected natural areas. |
| Barcelona | Since the 2026 rise, a quarter of the Catalan tax's revenue goes to housing. |
We only report what the body charging the tax says it spends the money on. Each place's page links to its sources.