Another UK hotspot to introduce new tourist tax on holidaymakers
ANOTHER popular hotspot in the UK is to introduce a tourist tax on holidaymakers.
Last week, Manchester confirmed that any overnight guests will have to pay £1 a night, per room, as part of the new scheme.
And Wales has since followed suit, with legislation to introduce the levy in the next two years.
The Welsh government confirmed that the tax would go towards maintaining and renovating holiday destinations.
Joint chairwoman of Anglesey Tourism Association Nia Jones told the BBC: “Some local authorities are for it – I don’t think we’re talking a huge amount of money, it’ll be a couple of pounds extra for the accommodation sector.
“The important part is that is spent on the tourism infrastructure and if that happens and people can see the visible and tangible benefits of the tax then we wait to see how it works.”
Minister for Finance and Local Government, Rebecca Evans, added: “We can’t pretend that tourism doesn’t have an impact on our communities and this really is just about doing what countries, regions and cities around the world are doing – asking tourists to pay a small contribution.”
It is expected to be an overnight tax on travellers staying at hotels and B&Bs, instead of a day levy.
However, other tourism leaders have not backed the move, with some saying the holiday sector is “still struggling after Covid”.
While Manchester is the first city in the UK to do so, others have suggested they could follow suit.
Bath and Oxford have suggested they could one day introduce a tourist tax, while Edinburgh could soon be charging tourists £2 a night to stay.
In Europe, places like Venice and Barcelona already have tourist taxes in place.
Barcelona tourists have to pay €4 a night, and Venice has a current tourist tax up to €5.
Earlier this year, Thailand introduced a tourist tax too – here are some other holiday hotspots where Brits have to pay a tourist tax.