More than £428m a year could be raised by imposing a £1-a-night levy on visitors staying in hotels, according to the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP).
On Saturday Manchester became the first UK city to introduce a tourism tax after four in five hoteliers voted in favour.
It followed a report by the NPP making the case for handing more tax powers to mayors and council leaders, saying it would give them more independence, flexibility and control over their ‘economic destiny’.
The partnership says tourism taxes are already commonplace across much of Europe. In France local authorities have been able to impose a visitor tax since 1910.
Northern Powerhouse chief executive Henri Murison said: ‘Introducing a tourism levy is common sense if we want to be able to invest in our offer to international visitors by protecting and enhancing our natural and cultural assets.
‘It’s not fair that the burden of this upkeep or the cost of increased traffic should fall entirely on local residents – nor does it make sense economically.
‘You wouldn’t think twice about paying a couple of euros in France or Italy, so why should it be any different here?’
