Edinburgh business and restaurant owners fear the capital is in a 'crisis' as they struggle to bring in enough customers in areas usually swarmed by tourists.
Paul Wedgwood, who owns a restaurant on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, said he would usually struggle to fit customers in, but on Thursday he only had two customers as the city was like a "ghost town" reports the Guardian.
It comes as the city was forced to cancel the August Fringe Festival which brought in 265,000 people last year, and in another blow to Edinburgh's economy, the famous Hogmanay Street party has also been cancelled this year due to the uncertainty.
According to the paper, people working in Edinburgh's tourism industry are 'desperately worried' about their 'uncertain future'.
Paul Nixon who runs popular tourist attraction the Real Mary King’s Close on the Royal Mile fears Edinburgh locals won't stick around in August as they are too used to 'sharing the city with tourists.'
Paul would usually do 54 tours a day in the summertime in Edinburgh, but at the moment he is running just 14.
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Business owner Andrew McRae, who has four shops in the capital that sell Harry Potter merchandise usually gains 80 percent of his customers from tourists, but now he can only open on a part-time basis.
He told the paper he has gone from working 12-hour shifts, to being "desperately worried" about their "uncertain future."
