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A proposed Bristol tourism tax could have a ‘devastating effect’ on businesses and deter visitors from coming to the city, said Mark Payne, chairman of the Bristol Hoteliers Association.
A report from the Green Party said that a tourism tax should be introduced to help plug the council’s deficit, which, due to financial oversight and dwindling central government contributions, means Bristol City Council may face a £108m deficit by 2023.
If introduced it would mean a small per night charge for visitors staying in hotel accommodations. However businesses and industry bodies from the city have warned the tax would undermine the work encouraging people to visit Bristol.
Hoteliers in the sector said Bristol would be labelled as the “tax city”, and it would not only damage the tourism industry but other businesses including, hotels, pubs, shops, cafes and visitor attractions.
According to Mark Payne, chairman of the Bristol Hoteliers Association, one area that should be a major focus is properties that rent out rooms on Airbnb.
He said: “Putting a tax on hotels will encourage more people to stay in AirBnB. Presently there are between 500–1,500 active rooms for sale on AirBnB in Bristol, the highest for a city outside of London. These are unregulated, don’t pay business rates, don’t employ people or pay any tax. Our view is that the council should set up a bespoke Bristol AirBnB tax, not hit tourists who are here to spend.”
Payne added: “Quite why Bristol is putting its hands up and saying we possibly want to introduce a tourism tax is quite remarkable. It will give potential visitors, both business and leisure, additional reason not to come here. Add in the lack of direction on the potential new arena means people will have even less reason to visit.
“Being one of the first cities in the UK to introduce a tax on tourists would be detrimental. We already lag behind, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Oxford which encourage more visitors than Bristol, so why put people off coming here.”
