York Councillor Advocates for Tourism Levy to Fund Attractions

The councillor responsible for York’s economy has described a proposed tourist tax, intended to help finance the city’s historic attractions, as an obvious necessity. The Labour-led council is investigating methods to charge visitors, but questions persist regarding the most effective implementation. While local councils currently lack the authority to directly impose a tax on tourists, York could employ a legal workaround, similar to those used elsewhere, which permits businesses to voluntarily collect the levy. Councillor Pete Kilbane, the economy executive member, stated that lobbying the government for devolved powers to introduce such a tax would continue. Earlier this year, council leader Claire Douglas expressed her desire for York to gain the authority to levy a tourist tax, akin to the one implemented in Manchester, enabling funds to be reinvested into the city. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillors on the economy, place, access and transport committee were informed at a meeting on Tuesday that officers had been exploring alternative solutions. In Manchester, for example, an additional £1 is added to visitors’ hotel bills. Other workarounds have included establishing business improvement districts (BIDs) specifically for local hotels and other hospitality businesses that collectively agree to apply the fee. However, attempts to introduce such charges through these means in locations including Bournemouth have encountered opposition from some businesses. Kilbane remarked: “A tourism levy is a no-brainer. A lot of the posh hotels say their customers wouldn’t think twice about it and some are surprised there isn’t already one.” He further commented: “The question is how we do it, if the hospitality industry is interested in doing it voluntarily then we’re open to that but they seem to have pulled away from it.”