York and North Yorkshire tourist tax – readers react

Many readers welcomed the proposals saying they had already been successful abroad, while others questioned the long-term benefits of a levy on overnight stays in the county.

It comes as a national consultation into visitor levies closed last Wednesday (February 18).

The reaction also follows the county’s Labour mayor, David Skaith, clashing with North Yorkshire’s Conservative MPs who said the levy is “simply wrong” and “should not be taken forward”.

Mr Skaith has said a levy on overnight stays in the area could raise up to £52 million for York and North Yorkshire and would be a “total gamechanger for our region”.

Reacting to the proposals on The Press’ Facebook page, Jackie Smith said she was “all for it”. “If the visitors are unable to pay a small amount of a visitor charge then they are unlikely to be able to afford to put much in the coffers of local businesses,” Jackie said. “The upkeep of a city like York is a huge cost to the local council tax payers so the visitors should contribute to it.”

Dave Scott agreed, saying he was a “frequent tourist to York and happy to pay a small amount to support this most beautiful of cities”.

Several readers compared the proposals to levies on overnight stays which have already been introduced in popular European tourist cities such as Paris, Lisbon and Barcelona.

“They do it abroad, why not here?” asked Howard Carlyle.

‘Far too many taxes as it is!’

Other commenters, however, said the levy may stop tourists from visiting the area.

They said a levy in York and North Yorkshire could also result in more areas of the UK introducing similar proposals, which would hit residents holidaying elsewhere in Britain.

“What people don’t get is that when residents of York go for overnight stays elsewhere in the UK they’ll be hit with the same tax eventually,” Mark Lister said.

Commenters also raised concern at the possibility of the levy increasing yearly.

“Once implemented, tourist tax will increase every year,” Trev Jenkins said. “Far too many taxes as it is!”

Meanwhile, Conservative MPs in the county called for tighter measures to ensure that  revenue raised from the levy would be spent in the local area – a view shared by some commenters.

“I think it’s a great idea if the funds raised from a tourist tax are ringfenced with annual reports published of how much was raised and how the money has been spent in the city,” Adie Eastwood said. “Otherwise it’s just another stealth tax loaded onto UK residents and the money just disappears into the ether.”

“I am in favour of a tourist tax as long as it goes towards maintaining buildings and infrastructure that attract visitors to the county versus going into a general fund,” added Press reader ‘Not the same’, writing on the newspaper’s website.