A group of English mayors is calling for new powers to impose tourist taxes across the country’s regions, allowing local authorities to make more money from visitors and fund improvements to infrastructure and cultural events.
Steve Rotheram, Liverpool’s mayor, is leading the coalition and has used the northwest city’s experience as an example, explaining: “The Liverpool city region is a global icon of creativity, culture and character – attracting more than 60 million visitors every year and supporting a £6.25bn visitor economy.” Describing that success as “something to be incredibly proud of” he nonetheless pointed out “but it also comes with pressures on our infrastructure and services.”
He argues that “A small charge on overnight stays – the kind most of us wouldn’t think twice about when travelling abroad – would give us the power to reinvest directly into the things that make our area so special.”
💷 VISITOR LEVY | Mayors across England are urging government to allow local authorities to introduce a tourist levy.
— Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region (@LCRMayor) June 3, 2025
Led by @MetroMayorSteve, the group say it would:
🏗️ Fund infrastructure
📈 Boost regional growth
🪙 Reduce reliance on central fundinghttps://t.co/8SNF3HG0MO
A joint letter has been sent by the mayors to British culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, as well as the country’s chancellor, Rachel Reeves. Signatories include Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, who said a tax would be “a fair and sustainable way to support our local services” and suggested the funds could be put towards regenerating the Old Trafford neighbourhood (despite the presence of the world’s second most valuable football club in the area). Manchester raised £2.8 million (€3.27 million) in the first year of a tax initiated by its Accommodation Business Improvement District in 2023.
Another of the letter’s co-signees, the capital’s Sadiq Khan, said: “A modest overnight accommodation levy, similar to other international cities, would boost our economy, deliver growth and help cement London’s reputation as a global tourism and business destination.”
It'd be a modest charge as is common in cities across the world.
— Steve Rotheram (@MetroMayorSteve) June 3, 2025
You'd struggle to make the case that New York, Paris, Barcelona or any of the many places that have one have 'killed tourism.' https://t.co/N59gg7F7zk
Scotland brought in legislation in 2024 to permit councils to choose whether or not to tax overnight accommodation, resulting in a 5% visitor surcharge on overnight stays in Edinburgh, set to start by 2026. Wales is also considering a £1.25 (€1.14) nightly levy that could be implemented by 2027. With the regions making progress on the issue, England is “at risk of falling behind” the mayors claim, calling for an urgent response from Westminster.
Tourist taxes have become relatively mainstream in destinations all over the world, and are used variously as a deterrent to a fund raising mechanism. They range from hiking fees on crowded trails around Mount Fuji, Japan, to the “access charge” payable by daytrippers visiting Italy’s Venice on peak season days. Greece is implementing a new cruise passenger tax, with port calls in Santorini and Mykonos subject to a fee of €20 per passenger. Norway recently approved a 3% tourist tax on lodging to fund improvements to the country’s infrastructure and services and is considering a cruise levy too.
