Tourism in Edinburgh

SIR – Ronnie Bradford (Letters, September 1) emphasises the positives of being able to rent out his flat in Edinburgh to tourists.

However, such rentals threaten to overwhelm the city – which is a real place where people live and work, not Disney World. It was reported a few years ago that one close on Edinburgh’s Grassmarket had just a single flat with permanent residents, whose lives were made miserable by short-term visitors to every other property.

Do Mr Bradford’s tenants have noisy parties every weekend, disturbing his permanent neighbours? Do they arrive back in the early hours shouting and slamming doors? Do they dispose of their rubbish appropriately? Who puts the property’s bins out the correct day?

Tourism is very important to Edinburgh but is not without its downside, and I believe the measures being attempted to strike a balance are appropriate and sensible.

Dr Hilary Aitken

Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire