Government open to hearing views on tourism tax

Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to Devon and Cornwall every year

Tourism leaders and business owners are wary of the possibility of a tourism tax in the south west.

The new devolution minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told delegates at the Labour conference mayors were "having a conversation with us about tourism tax... and we are interested" according to the Local Government Chronicle.

A caravan park owner in Devon said as the cost of living crisis continues, visitors would not tolerate another tax.

The leader of Devon County Council said tourism taxes existed in many parts of Europe and could work well - as long as any money raised was spent on improving the visitor experience.

Claire Flower, owner of Beverley Park in Paignton, has reservations about the idea of a tourism tax

Claire Flower's grandfather set up the Beverley Park caravan park in Paignton 67 years ago and it now has about 1,800 customers on site in the summer and employs about 180 staff.

She said: "People are very price-conscious - especially with the current cost of living and they will find it difficult.

"It may seem to them that holiday parks and other accommodation won't be quite as affordable to them as it was."

The population of Torbay, of which Paignton is a part, shoots up from about 135,000 in the winter to more than 200,000 in the summer.

Ms Flower said: "Our economy absolutely thrives on tourism - it creates so many jobs in the bay and it's what the area is all about."

The boss of Visit Devon, Sally Everton, says there is a risk a tourism tax would "de-incentivise" visitors

Visitors to several countries in Europe, including France, Spain, Italy and Germany, pay the equivalent of a tourism tax per night when staying in paid accommodation.

A tax came into force on Wednesday for visitors to Edinburgh who will have to pay an extra 5% on top of their accommodation bill for stays in the city from 24 July 2026.

Sally Everton, head of the tourism body Visit Devon, said: "We are expensive destinations anyway, the UK is an expensive destination and to add a tourism tax would de-incentivise visitors both domestically and internationally.

"We already have a high VAT threshold compared to our European partners."

Ms Everton said there could be a benefit if a tourism tax was "reinvested in the visitor economy" but was wary of any money raised being used for other purposes.

The countryside and coasts of Devon attract hundreds of thousands of visitors

As the leader of South Hams District Council Julian Brazil introduced a scheme where tourists pay more than residents in some car parks.

Now the leader of Devon County Council, Brazil welcomed the idea of a tourism tax in principle.

He said: "I think it's a good opportunity for us to raise money locally and to spend it locally."

He said he would be in favour of a scheme as long as it was not used by government as an excuse to cut other funding.

He said: "This is extra money that we can use to invest in the tourism sector and we can use that in consultation with the tourism industry and the chambers of commerce about how we spend it."

The BBC understands the government would consider requests for tourism taxes from strategic mayors that are already in place in some parts of the country and likely to be introduced in other areas as part of the reorganisation of local government.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "There are currently no plans to introduce a tourism tax in England, but we are open to hearing views from local leaders on this."