It’s not a good look when tourists are turned off Edinburgh by hotel prices

Is the cost of visiting Edinburgh putting off tourists?

It might be difficult to imagine that when you are fighting off the crowds on the Royal Mile or standing in what seems to be a never-ending queue for a mulled wine at the Christmas markets.

But it is something I have been thinking quite a lot about this week.

Edinburgh's Royal Mile | Getty Images

I am just back from an amazing holiday to Morocco (I had a great time, thank you very much). It was a bit of a different holiday for me - I joined a tour group for the whole fortnight, which is something I have never done before.

When I was introducing myself to everyone else in the group on the first day, one woman was so excited when I told her I was from Scotland.

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She was from Canada, and had just booked an impromptu detour on her way home via Edinburgh. She had never been to Scotland, but had always wanted to visit and saw this as the perfect opportunity.

Naturally, I was more than happy to give her countless recommendations on sightseeing, restaurants, what things to look out for, and what food and drink she should try while she was here.

A couple of days into the trip, I asked her if she had made any more plans for her Edinburgh trip. She sadly told me she had cancelled the plans and was instead heading straight back to Canada with no detour.

The reason? The hotel rooms in Edinburgh were just too expensive.

Here was someone who had a seat on a flight to Edinburgh booked, someone who was excited to come here, and crucially, someone who would have spent money in our hospitality and tourism sector. Yet she is not coming and spending her money here, because the hotel rooms are extortionate.

So maybe we do need to think carefully about whether the price of hotel rooms in Edinburgh is prohibitively expensive.

I had a quick search on Booking.com to see how much a hotel room in Edinburgh for two adults would set you back this weekend.

A city centre hotel room is coming in at around £320 right now. However, most of the recognisable brand names we are all familiar with in the city centre are in excess of £400 a night.

Outside the city centre is a little bit cheaper, but not to the point where you are getting yourself a bargain. A hotel room in Leith is around £220 a night. If you want to stay near Murrayfield, you are about the same price.

Yes Edinburgh is a major European city and a major tourist destination, but surely asking people to fork out £400 a night for the privilege is asking too much?

Ah, but it would be cheaper if there was no tourist tax, I hear you readers exclaiming.

True - hotel rooms are a bit more expensive since the 5 per cent tax came into force this summer. But removing this tax from a £400 room only takes the price down to £380 - hardly a steal.

Quibbling over 5 per cent, particularly 5 per cent that is being reinvested back into the city itself, seems like a moot point when talking about prices like this.

Edinburgh is hardly struggling for tourism right now, but perhaps the city needs to keep an eye on what is happening here. People are already turning their backs on Edinburgh because of this issue.