UKinbound and ABTA have voiced concerns about the Government’s plan for an overnight visitor tax announced in the King’s Speech to Parliament yesterday.
The Overnight Visitor Levy Bill will allow local authorities to introduce a tourist tax, bringing England into line with Scotland and Wales.
The Bill points out that ‘all other G7 countries already have some form of tourism or overnight accommodation levy in place, with cities such as New York, Amsterdam and Rome using the money raised to fund local services or to support communities and the visitor economy.
However, UKinbound CEO Joss Croft said: “While we have not yet seen the detail of the legislation, UKinbound does not support further taxation on international visitors, who already contribute through one of Europe’s peak levels of VAT and some of the world’s highest visa and ETA fees and Air Passenger Duty.
“As these powers are taken forward, the devil will be in the detail, including ensuring any levy is simple to implement, creates no additional cost burden for businesses, and that revenues are clearly reinvested into the visitor economy.”
ABTA Director of Public Affairs Luke Petherbridge said: “We’ve long expressed concern with the cumulative impact of taxes and charges on U.K. travel and tourism, which is already uncompetitive on cost grounds, a visitor levy further adds to this.
“When it comes to any new levy on visitors, it is important that money raised from it is put back into tourism and the local communities, and it was encouraging to see reinvestment acknowledged today.
“With our sector partners, including the Tourism Alliance, we will engage with local mayors to express how vital it is for this to be focused on promoting and developing local tourism which could deliver visible improvements for visitors, tourism businesses, and residents. We await the Government’s full report on the consultation and will reiterate our members views and shape taxes where introduced.”
The Government said it will shortly publish a response to the consultation it launched in late 2025, ‘setting out stakeholder views and providing further detail on the design and implementation of the levy, including a position on extending this power to Foundation Strategic Authorities.’
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has welcomed plans for an overnight tax. “Giving mayors the powers to raise a tourist levy is great news for London,” he said. “The extra funding will directly support London’s economy, and help cement our reputation as a global tourism and business destination.”
Meanwhile, Luke said the European Partnership Bill, also included in the King’s Speech, will be important for both outbound and inbound travel.
“We’ll continue to raise with Government the changes we need to help boost these sectors, including a youth-experience scheme to make it easier for young people to work in the EU and vice versa,” he said.
Luke added: “We’ll also be paying close attention to the Civil Aviation Bill [also mentioned by King Charles] and what that means for consumers’ travel.”
