Yahoo News Travellers issued 10-day warning over new ‘tourist tax’ coming to UK holiday spots
A holiday destination here in the UK which is very popular during the summer months will soon start to charge visitors a 'tourist tax' to stay there.
All across the globe, many countries and cities have chosen to implement this kind of payment which is charged to visitors in order to fund things like infrastructure and events. Usually, these places are very popular with tourists, such as Barcelona and Venice.
Now, one part of the country will be the first coastal area to charge this fee from July 1 - and it's expected that other popular tourist traps could follow suit too.
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Dorset will introduce a 'tourist tax' from the beginning of next month, it has been reported by the Standard. Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch will soon charge some visitors when they come to stay, after hotels voted in favour in a consultation by the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID).
How much will the tourist tax be?
Under the new tax, guests staying in larger hotels within these areas will have to pay an extra £2 levy per room, per night.
The tax is predicted to make £12m over the next five years, with the funds being used to help sustain and develop events within the region.
Does anywhere else charge a tourist tax?
At the moment, Dorset is the only coastal region with a confirmed date to begin charging visitors a 'tourist tax'. But some other destinations which see a lot of tourists coming and going are also considering similar plans, or they have already started charging levies.
For example, some city councils introduced a tourism-based Business Improvement District (BID) as of April 1, 2023. In Manchester, 73 hotels and serviced apartments have signed up to the BID, and Liverpool has been floating the idea but no solid plans are in place.
Cambridge is also expected to follow suit after the success of these. It's worth noting that English councils have no power to implement tourist taxes but a legal workaround has allowed these places to do so.
And in Scotland, the Government has introduced legislation permitting local authorities to levy tourist taxes on short-stay accommodation. The The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill would see visitors paying a percentage of the cost of overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets. However, it's not yet known when this could come into force.
