Edinburgh City Council has approved more than £12,000 for foreign travel.
Trips include business-class flights to New York for Tartan Week, a week-long celebration of Scottish American heritage, costing £6,500.
Tartan Week is an opportunity for Scottish representatives to advertise to one of their largest markets.
From January to June 2024, 459,000 Americans travelled to Scotland, spending a total of £560 million.
Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, Scottish Liberal Democrat councillor Robert Aldridge, will accompany two others on the trip.
The Lord Provost is the civic head and Ambassador of the City of Edinburgh, and from 2000-07 regularly attended the event.
The Lord Provost received an invitation to be President of the National Tartan Day NY committee this year, after the successful creation of the 2025 Edinburgh Tartan Parade.
However, SNP councillor Stuart Dobbin sees “no tangible benefit” in these trips and says that “Labour and Lib Dem Councillors want to jet off.”
Dobbin, the SNP groups finance spokesperson, argued that the money should instead go towards council services.
Finance convener and Labour councillor Mandy Watt refuted Dobbin: “As Scotland’s Capital, it’s important that we’re represented on the international stage along with other major cities — including others from Scotland — as a means of promoting the city, building relationships with leaders from around the world and learning from our counterparts in different countries.”
A report to the Policy and Sustainability Committee states: “in booking all travel and accommodation, every effort will be made to keep costs to a minimum.”
Other trips include a trip to a transport conference in Barcelona, estimated at £1,000, and a four-person visit to the start of the Tour de France, estimated at £5,000.
The Tour de France excursion is essential, according to the report, which reads: “Technical visits are a recognised best practice in the planning of major events. They allow organisers to develop and amend plans based on live experiences of other similar or identical events.”
Edinburgh will host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2027.
“Edinburgh Council building – geograph.org.uk – 1315978” by kim traynor is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.