Trade body UK Hospitality has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to shelve plans to expand the so-called ‘tourist tax’ across the UK.
UK Hospitality has written to the Prime Minister urging him to drop the plans or face losing 33,000 jobs in the UK’s tourism sector.
First proposed under Keir Starmer’s government, the Visitor Levy would give regional mayors the power to impose a tax on tourists, chargeable on overnight accommodation.
Some of the UK’s biggest hospitality providers have opposed the levy, including Whitbread, Greene King and Butlins.
Government plans indicate that funds raised via the levy will be used to finance local infrastructure projects. It stated: ‘Local leaders know what it will take to drive growth in their areas, creating jobs and attracting investment that speak to the strengths of their region.’
However, UK Hospitality has warned that the levy will hit holidaymakers with over £1 billion in tax.
Allen Simpson, Chief Executive of UK Hospitality, said: ‘It’s clear the government is now intending to implement a nationwide holiday tax, making family holidays more expensive during a cost-of-living crisis. I am pro-devolution, but I am not in favour of an extra tax that will cost 33,000 jobs.’
