Manchester To Start Charging Tourists for Visiting

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Manchester will soon become the first UK city to charge a tourist tax.

From 1 April, tourists to Manchester staying overnight in a city centre hotel or holiday apartment can expect to pay a new tourist fee of £1 per night, per room.

Visitors to the northwestern city who stay will be charged £1 per night, per room, as part of a new scheme officials hopes will raise £3m per year.

Called the “City Visitor Charge”, the fee is the first to be introduced in the UK and mirrors similar charges introduced in tourist destinations such as Venice, Barcelona, and Rome.

Edinburgh is expected to be the second British city to implement a tourist tax of £2 per night after local officials voted in favour of the move in November 2022.

Who Will Benefit from the Tourist Tax

A tourist tax is a levy that the government charges to generate more revenue that can be used to fund local tourism-related initiatives such as the upkeep of tourist sites and infrastructure improvements.

The funds will contribute to financing the new Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District, which aims to improve the visitor experience and support the future growth of the visitor economy over the upcoming five years.

According to Visit Manchester, 74 hotels located within the inner ring road of the city will impose the fee. Although the method of charging is yet to be confirmed, taking cues from similar initiatives in Europe, the fee will be added to the final bill and payable at the end of the stay.

The introduction of a tourist tax impacts visitors in a few different ways. To begin with, it has the potential to hike up the cost of travelling, prompting visitors to factor in the additional expense of the tax while devising their travel budget. On the other hand, the funds will help improve the overall quality of the trip due to the local government's tourism-related enhancement.

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