Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole hotels to vote on 'tourist tax'

Tourism boss Andy Lennox said a charge would "sort out" the area's issues

A plan to set up England's first coastal "tourist tax" will be voted on by hoteliers in April.

Guests at 70 larger hotels in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area would pay at least an extra £2.20 per room per night from autumn 2024, if most providers are in favour.

BCP tourism leaders said the money would replace council funding.

Opening a consultation for hotels, they said the charge could raise more than £2m per year to benefit the resorts.

BCP Council is ceasing to fund entries for the Blue Flag beach awards scheme

Pub and restaurant owner Andy Lennox, who chairs the area's Destination Management Board, said the money would "sort BCP out".

He said: "This is essentially something which has been done in Manchester and Liverpool to great success... much like in Europe.

"If you want to have an air show, if you want to have Blue Flag beaches... the council obviously cannot fund any of these things any more... so we must come up with a new mechanism to be able to fund these things.

"There is no point in us as a conurbation bringing people down here to somewhere where it isn't clean, it isn't green and it isn't safe and it isn't vibrant.

"We must ensure it remains so. We are at a cross-road."

The council is ending its subsidy for the annual Bournemouth Air Festival

BCP Council has previously announced cost-cutting measures including an end to subsidies for the resort's annual air festival after 2024, as well as ceasing to pay for entries to the Blue Flag beach award scheme.

Council leader Vikki Slade said she welcomed the hoteliers' "proactive approach".

She said: "As the council moves to a new way of working, as an enabler rather than deliverer, we will do everything within our power to help the process to a successful conclusion."

Although English councils have no powers to impose tourist taxes, several have effectively done so via a legal workaround, according to a House of Commons briefing paper.

BCP hopes to copy Manchester and Liverpool by setting up a Business Improvement District and collecting the tax in the form of levies on businesses.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].