More than half of people think councils should have the power to levy a tourism tax, a new survey has found.

The poll, conducted for the Local Government Association (LGA), found 53% of people believe their council should be able to charge tourists a small fee to pay for services.

Research has found that a pound-per-night levy could raise between £238,000 and more than £7m a year depending on the area.

Chair of the LGA's culture, tourism and sport board, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said: ‘Giving councils the ability to introduce a local tourism levy means they could reinvest some of the tax income generated by this tourism into their local area into the services that are attracting visitors.'

Last year, Edinburgh City Council voted in favour of introducing the UK's first tourist tax, with a £2 per night room charge.