Popular UK tourist destination, Manchester, has introduced a nightly tourist tax. The tax came into effect in April 2023.
A tourist tax – a first in the UK – has been implemented in Manchester. As of 1 April 2023, visitors to the city in the north of England will have to pay a one-pound-a-night tax.
Named the City Visitor Charge, the tax will likely generate significant revenue, which will be invested in improving the city’s tourist offerings and infrastructure.
The City Visitor Charge – Manchester becomes the first UK city to tax tourists
Manchester is the first city in the UK to levy a tourist tax. Guests at hotels in the city will pay one pound a night, per room. It comes after a hotelier referendum last year in which four in five backed the tax. The charge will also apply to Airbnbs in the city.
Scotland‘s capital, Edinburgh, has plans to introduce a similar tax, subject to approval from the country’s devolved government.
The Welsh government also plans to implement a tourist tax, but has yet to confirm an exact fee at the time of writing. Oxford, Bath, and Hull have recently considered similar plans but ultimately decided against the tax.
What the plan will achieve – the aims of the tax
The tourist tax will partly fund the new Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID), a development that aims to “improve visitor experience” and “support future growth of the visitor economy” in coming years.
They hope to add close to 6,000 hotel rooms in the city. Predictions indicate that this would lead to an extra million overnight stays.
ABID chairperson Annie Brown called the tax a “smart move”, noting that the fee is a “small amount” compared to taxes in other European cities.
Brown added, “It’s projected to make about three million pounds annually and that will fund the ABID and we will get the attractions, and cleaning, and deliver against our business plan.
“It’s going to be the largest accommodation business improvement district outside central London in terms of the revenue it generates.”
Learning from Europe – European cities have had tourist taxes for years
Many European cities have charged a tourist tax for years. In Barcelona, Spain, visitors must pay at least five euros. However, this can rise as high as six in a five-star hotel.
In Rome and Venice, the price also fluctuates depending on the accommodation’s rating. Rome charges between three and seven euros a night, while in Venice visitors pay between one and five.
Venice is also due to implement a day-tripper tax of ten euros which will be automatically added to the price of a ticket for all forms of travel to the city.
This should have been in force as of January 2023, but protests have seen it pushed back at least six months.
