From Cambridge to Beverley, Bristol to Saltburn, mayors and local leaders across the country are planning on using new powers to impose tourist taxes on UK staycations, The Telegraph has reported.
As many as 10 of England’s 14 regional mayors are planning to or considering implementing these “overnight visitor levies”.
The move threatens to add hundreds of pounds to the cost of the average family getaway.
The Government has said it wants the new tax to be calculated as a percentage of accommodation costs, although it is also considering a flat-rate approach.
Mayors across Yorkshire, the North East, the West Country and much of the Midlands – areas that include popular holiday destinations such as Scarborough and the Peak District – are backing the tax.
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Together, these regions account for almost 40pc of domestic tourism, with British residents making 37.5 million trips there each year, according to the latest tourist board figures.
A survey by The Telegraph found that a number of smaller authorities are also considering introducing the levies, which could be rolled out more widely under Labour’s council devolution plans.
These include Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Oxford City and North Norfolk councils, among others — destinations that include the Roman Baths, Sandbanks, Cromer and the Norfolk Broads.
Tourist taxes are already in force in Manchester and Liverpool, while Sadiq Khan has welcomed new powers to introduce them in London.
Andy Burnham, one of the most prominent supporters of the tax as Mayor of Manchester, said on Friday that he had “put the case” to the Government and had “made really good progress” in advancing the policy.
Only three regional mayors have ruled out introducing the overnight levies, which would be added on top of VAT, saying they amount to “a tax on hard-earned holidays” and a “cash grab” by councils that would hurt working people.
Only one mayoral area, the West Midlands Combined Authority, said it did not yet know what its plans were.
The hospitality industry has described the tourist levy as “economically destructive”, warning that it would cost jobs and encourage people to holiday abroad.
Andrea Jenkyns of Reform, the first elected mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, said she would not be implementing the overnight tax.
“At a time when British families are already struggling under the weight of this Labour Government’s policies, the last thing they need is a tax on their hard-earned holidays,” she said.
“Our hospitality sector and local businesses are already pushed to the brink by rising costs and high inflation; they need our support, not more financial hurdles.
“Introducing a visitor levy would only punish the very entrepreneurs who drive our economy and threaten the jobs they provide.
Reform’s Luke Campbell has also ruled out bringing in the overnight taxes in Hull and East Yorkshire, while Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, said “piling another tax on working people” would not drive growth.
“If Labour hands me these powers, I won’t use them,” he said.
“People in Teesside and our local businesses are already feeling the squeeze from Labour’s last Budget. This is yet another cash grab that will hammer the fantastic hospitality businesses we have across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.
“I promised I’d never introduce a mayoral tax, and I’m proud to have kept my word not to add to the burden that local people already face. Now is no different.”
A paper by Oxford Economics for Hospitality UK published last week estimated the holiday tax would result in the loss of 33,000 jobs, reduce tourism spending and cause a drop in GDP of £2.2bn.
