UK metropolis set to herald tourism tax as guests may very well be hit by enormous each day tariff
Liverpool is set to bring in a tourism tax from June 2025 which means visitors face having to cough up a £2 tariff for every overnight stay they spend in the city
Visiting Penny Lane could cost Beatles’ fans an extra two quid with Liverpool set to bring in a tourism tax. From June next year visitors face shelling out a £2 tariff for every overnight stay they spend in the city.
Tourism chiefs reckon it could bring in £6.7million over two years. But it could signal a Hard Day’s Night for 800,000 fans of the Fab Four who descend from around the world every year to pay homage to their musical heroes.
It also promises to be foul for 1.5 million football fans who roll up annually from out of town to watch Liverpool or Everton play.
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But accommodation chiefs, who have been asked to vote on introducing the tariff, reckon it will be a small price to pay for music and sports fans.
Members of Liverpool’s Accommodation Business Improvement District, aka BID, are being asked to implement the new City Visitor Charge to help support its growth and development.
The body’s chief executive officer Bill Addy said he does not believe visitors will be put off by the charge. “We know that overnight guests spend more money in the city than daytrippers so encouraging more overnight stays, through conferences or major events spanning several days, generates a greater income for the city, be that through hospitality, retail, cultural venues,” he said.
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“The method we are proposing reflects similar models across European cities which work successfully and, if replicated in Liverpool, will translate overnight stays into major investment in attracting world leading and world beating events to the city.”
The fee, which would be administered by BID made up of 80 hotel and serviced apartment providers, could fund marketing initiatives and public services like street cleaning.
Marcus Magee, chairman of the group, said: “This is an alteration ballot which will ask the hotel industry to change the way we bring in funds.
“The change in the model is necessary to help the city bring in more events and Liverpool to compete with neighbouring cities. We are in a competitive visitor economy and it is vital that Liverpool holds its own.’’
Accommodation BIDs are currently the only mechanism for introducing visitor charges though Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson has said he would like the local authority to be given new powers to bring in a tourist tax.
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