The introduction of a tourist tax would help reverse austerity’s ‘heavy toll’ on councils, the Autonomy Institute think tank says.
In a report entitled ‘The Future of Tourism: Holidays as Public Luxury’, the think tank argues that the implementation of visitor levies would be a ‘sensible first step’ in helping councils manage tourism.
The push for tourist tax has previously been backed by a coalition of UK mayors, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves being said to oppose the levy, despite reports that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is in favour of the change.
Calling on the Government to allow councils to introduce charges on hotel visits, the think tank suggests the move would simultaneously ‘enrich communities that rely on tourism’ and discourage ‘harmful overtourism’.
‘Such a tax would begin to undo the heavy toll that UK Government austerity has heaped upon local councils over the last decade’, the report says.
Among the benefits of the change, the think tank lists improved living standards and wealth equality, while enhancing local power over tourism, which the report reframes as a form of ‘public infrastructure’.
