One in 5 Brits to ditch staycations if Labour imposes ‘vacation tax’ – pushing household getaways up by greater than £100
Almost one in five Britons fears a visitor levy imposed by Labour would stop them booking a holiday in England as fears grow over a £100-per-family ‘tourist tax’.
UKHospitality believes the levies ‘would deter millions from holidaying’ at home due to concerns over a new tax rate of either 5 per cent or £2 per person per night.
Campaigners claim the tax could add more than £100 to the bill for a family of four’s summer holiday and would mean they spend less money in tourist destinations.
The Government ran a consultation from last November until February on giving English strategic authority mayors the power to create local overnight visitor levies.
Tourists staying at hotels, bed and breakfasts, campsites and self-catering properties could face a charge on top of the price of their short-stay overnight accommodation.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government believes the extra cash could be reinvested into local transport, infrastructure and the visitor economy.
Some authorities in other countries already charge so-called tourist taxes – such as in Paris and Barcelona – while in Edinburgh, visitors face a 5 per cent payment on the cost of their overnight accommodation for their first five nights, starting from July 24.
Proponents of the scheme have claimed English mayors cannot match the levels of investment seen internationally without new revenue-raising powers in the UK.
A proposed £2 per night tourist tax for larger hotels in Bournemouth was scheduled for July 2024 but is currently on hold pending an appeal
But a poll of 10,005 people for UKHospitality released today found 18 per cent felt they would be stopped from booking a holiday in England if new levies raised costs.
Some 56 per cent of British adults opposed the visitor levy compared with 24 per cent in support, according to the survey conducted by Stack Data Strategy.
Modelling suggested opposition sat at 59 per cent in Greater Lincolnshire, the mayoralty won last year by Reform UK’s Andrea Jenkyns which includes Skegness and Mablethorpe on the North Sea coast.
Elsewhere on the coast, opposition sat at 58 per cent in Devon and Torbay, and 57 per cent in Hull and East Yorkshire and the North East.
Opposition was lower in the West of England including Bristol and Bath (53 per cent with 27 per cent in support) and London (51 per cent with 28 per cent in support).
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: ‘This polling should be a wake-up call for every MP tempted to back the holiday tax.
‘It is opposed by a majority of their constituents, it would deter millions from holidaying in England, and it would hit hardest the very families the Government says it wants to help.
UKHospitality cited how Chancellor Rachel Reeves had said in her spring statement that ‘being able to pay for a holiday should never be too much to ask’
‘In her spring statement, the Chancellor (Rachel Reeves) said being able to pay for a holiday should never be too much to ask, but this tax puts a holiday out of reach for many.’
Mr Simpson added: ‘Let’s keep holidays relaxing, not taxing.’
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: ‘There appears to be nothing that Labour won’t tax. This will be the death knell for many seaside resorts and will stop up to one in five Brits holidaying in England.
‘No Reform UK mayors will enforce this terrible tax. We want people to be able to have fun and enjoy themselves without being clobbered by the taxman. This latest ploy from Labour shows they have completely given up on serving hard-pressed people.’
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: ‘This poll is based on speculation. The final design of the visitor levy has not been decided.
‘We’re clear that the levy will ensure areas benefit even more from tourism and mayors will have more money to invest in local priorities.’
