Money
England's Regional Mayors May Soon Get Power to Charge a Tourist Tax
Book a hotel room in an English city next year, and the final bill could include a new local charge that goes straight to the mayor's office, not the hotel. The UK government is set to let regional mayors introduce a tax on overnight stays.
£1 per nightManchester's existing voluntary visitor charge per room
The facts
- 1The UK government is expected to give England's regional mayors legal power to introduce a tourist tax on overnight hotel and short-stay bookings.
- 2The levy would let a mayor's combined authority add a per-night charge to a guest's bill, which the accommodation provider then passes on to the local authority.
- 3Manchester already runs a voluntary version of this idea, a business-led City Visitor Charge of £1 per room per night since 2023, seen as a template.
- 4Money raised through the new tax could fund local infrastructure, tourism marketing, or public services that visitors themselves use while in the city.
- 5Hotel and tourism industry groups have warned added charges could raise costs for travellers, while councils argue it gives cities a fairer way to fund services tourists rely on.
Why it matters
Many European cities already charge visitors a small nightly fee; giving English mayors this power could reshape how local governments fund services without raising general taxes, while testing how much extra cost tourists will accept.
Sources
- BBC News
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
