As the Government consultation closes on the Overnight Visitor Levy, the Mayor of North Yorkshire has set out the next steps for a visitor levy region in a series of meetings with tourism and hospitality businesses.
He set out his Policy Lab research into the rewards and risks of the Mayoral Overnight Visitor Levy, which initially indicated that a tax £2 per person, per night could collect up to £52 million a year.
Visitor levies (or tourist taxes) are controversial because they risk hurting the competitiveness of local tourism, adding to cost-of-living pressures, and placing administrative burdens on small businesses. While intended to fund local infrastructure, critics fear they could deter visitors, worsen inequality, and fail to directly address overtourism.
Over the past month, the Mayor has met with more than 100 hospitality and tourism business owners across the region, taking him to Skipton, Harrogate, Scarborough, and York.
The research will explore the opportunities and challenges of introducing a levy in the region, investigating how it could be implemented with either percentage or flat rates and whether there should be exceptions, including residents for example.
The Government is due to close its national consultation on the visitor levy tomorrow. If the levy, following the national consultation, gets the green light Mayor David Skaith will then hold a region-wide consultation before any levy is introduced.
David Skaith said:
York and North Yorkshire is beautiful, with something for everyone. That’s why millions of people come spend time here every year, it’s a success story for our region, with over 54,000 jobs, but it also adds a lot of pressure to local services.
I’m focussed on the people who live and work here and who feel the impact of millions of visitors. I’ll make sure that we prioritise the places and public services that feel the most pressure, without costing residents an extra penny.
A visitor levy could be a total game changer for our region, it’s an opportunity to drive investment into our communities, and back businesses in our tourism and hospitality sectors with the support we all know we need, but nobody has the money for right now. We must get this right for our region and that’s what I’m focussed on as we go through this process.
Mayor David Skaith will continue to meet with the region’s tourism and hospitality groups as he develops plans for an overnight visitor levy over the coming months.
