The trade body’s warnings come after Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham last week called for a “proper” and mandatory “tourist levy” for visitors to the city.
At the time of publication, no officials plans had been announced.
UKH chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “It’s really disappointing the Mayor doesn’t seem to appreciate the damage a mandatory tourist tax would have on the city as a destination, which modelling shows would reduce visitor numbers and spending.”
Currently, anyone staying in a Manchester city centre hotel is urged to pay £1-per-night to fund the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) organisation, which promotes Manchester as a destination, and cleans the streets around hotels.
Frustrating comparisons
However, Burnham said he wanted to see the city’s optional fee, named the “city visitor charge”, replaced by a compulsory charge for tourists, similar to those in other European countries.
Though Nicholls said it was “frustrating” to see the “oft-used comparison” to other major tourist destinations charging visitors tax, adding other European cities have a “significantly lower rate of VAT, in some cases half of the 20% charged in the UK.
She continued: “Our visitors are already taxed considerably more compared to other countries in Europe – we shouldn’t be adding to that burden.
“The Mayor recognises the contribution residents make to public funding through council tax, but he overlooks the £94m hospitality businesses in Greater Manchester generate in revenue for local services.
“On top of this, there is a hotel-led scheme that funds a number of areas including street cleanliness and promoting Manchester as a destination.”
No plans
According to UKH, the impact assessment produced for the Welsh Government’s visitor levy showed it would result in a reduction in visitors of up to 2.5% and a drop in spend by up to £35m a year.
Last month, Edinburgh council pushed back the introduction of a visitor levy in the city to October, giving firms more time to prepare for the new legislation.
Nicholls concluded: “Everyone can appreciate the challenging financial situation many local authorities find themselves in, but a tourist tax to top up day-to-day council spending is not the answer.
“It would do further harm to our tourism competitiveness, hit consumers in the pocket and place further burdens on business.
“I’m pleased the Government has been clear that it has no plans to introduce a tourist tax and we will be holding them to that commitment.”
