Reporting by Holly Jones.

Edinburgh City Council is to launch a consultation on plans to charge a tourist tax of £2 per night.

The draft proposal suggests a charge of either 2% or £2 per room per night, but capped at seven nights.

The tourist tax is designed to raise £11m per year for the city to spent on managing the impact of increasing numbers of visitors flocking to Edinburgh each year.

Council leader Adam McVey said it was working to a timescale of having a plan ready to go by next year.

He said: "Our mandate to the people of Edinburgh is to implement a Transient Visitor Levy (TVL) within this council term, but we will be ready to go by next summer whenever the rest of other processes conclude."

The formal consultation, planned to launch on October 2, will ask the public for their views on the size of charge, what types of accommodation should be covered, whether it should be seasonal or all-year-round and whether it should be capped.

Deputy leader Councillor Cammy Day, said: "I strongly believe that it's time for a TVL in Edinburgh.

"The survey results published earlier this month back up our thinking that tourists won't be put off from visiting Edinburgh.

"This is consistent with the experience of other cities and dispels many of the fears voiced by some in the industry."

Mr McVey added that the consultation will allow for a "wider and transparent debate".

He continued: "We continue to believe that a TVL is in the best interests of our residents, our tourism industry and those who visit us, and we fully expect the robust, professional approach we are taking to achieve a positive result for the capital."