From Malaysia to Manchester, tourist taxes seem to be becoming the new norm all over the world. For some holiday hotspots they’re about trying to raise more money for the local travel industry, for others (like Venice) they’re about trying to limit the number of people that visit.
Now, more and more parts of the UK are discussing or implementing their own taxes on tourists. Here’s a look at the most recent ones.
Scotland
In Scotland, nearly half of all of local councils are considering a mandatory levy on overnight stays in response to a rise in visitors. Places like Skye, Lewis and Orkney are under pressure from more people travelling to see major attractions, such as the Glenfinnan viaduct featured in the Harry Potter franchise.
Right now, the Highlands council is talking to local businesses and residents about enforcing a 5 percent charge that could come into place in two years. It hopes that the tax could raise £10m a year and the discussions come as Edinburgh prepares to introduce a mandatory levy in July 2026.
Wales
Over in Wales, the Senedd has just announced that it will be introducing a tourist tax to raise extra cash for tourism and amenities in popular areas such as Pembrokeshire and Cardiff.
The tax requires a piece of legislation to be passed by the Welsh government but if all goes to plan, the levy of £1.25 per night for guests at Welsh hotels, B&Bs and self-catered accommodation will be enforced by April 2027 at the earliest. If all councils implement it, it could raise as much as £33m a year.
England
In a report last week titled ‘Who pays for the Lake District?’, landscape charity Friends of the Lake District called for tourists to the Lakes to be charged £1 or £2 to raise funds for local services.
Michael Hill, the charity’s chief exec, told the Guardian: ‘We are not anti-tourist. We’re not saying, let’s tax tourists to keep them away, absolutely not. Quite the opposite; in most of the places around the world that we’ve looked at that have brought in some sort of tourism levy, tourism numbers have actually increased, because the place gets better.
However, unlike several seaside towns, the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) said it has ‘no current plans to implement a tourist tax’.
More on tourist tax
As we said, tourist taxes are pretty widespread now — here’s full list of places worldwide that you have to pay extra to visit this year. In the UK, it’s already being trialled in Manchester and Cambridge, there are rumours it will be introduced in London and Weston-super-Mare could be next.
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