On the 1st of April, Manchester will start charging tourists a nightly tax, becoming the first city in the UK to take such a measure.
The fee is called “City Visitor Charge” and tourists staying at hotels as well as apartments and guesthouses in the city centre will have to pay £1 (€1.14) per night per room. Although it does not seem like much, the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) expects this will bring about £3 million (€3.4 million) per year.
I think [the message it sends] has been a consideration, however when you compare it to European cities that have had taxes and visitor levies in place for a number of years, we feel it’s a small amount comparatively.
Annie Brown, first chair of ABID, told Manchester Evening
“There are other cities in the UK looking to put in place what Manchester has done, I don’t think it’s a charge that’s off-putting. It’s projected to make about £3 million annually and that will fund the ABID and we will get the attractions, and cleaning, and deliver against our business plan. It’s going to be the largest accommodation BID outside of central London in terms of the revenue it generates”, ABID’s first chair, Annie Brown explained in an interview with Manchester Evening.
The decision to implement the charge was taken after 80% of hoteliers voted in favour of it in 2022. Part of the reason behind calling for the vote was Manchester’s plan of doubling its accommodation capacity with 28 new hotels, encompassing more than 6,000 rooms, over the next few years. Only accommodation with an annual rent value of over £75,000 (€85,000), regardless of whether they are hotels or short stay serviced apartments.
The Manchester ABID, who will collect the funds from the tax, was created at the initiative of the city’s hotel and serviced apartment providers in response to the challenges currently facing the accommodation sector in Manchester, which include the recovery from the pandemic and the impact of Brexit on the hospitality industry. The new initiative aims to create a more robust and sustainable accommodation sector in the city, maximise opportunities to increase occupancy and ensure the city remains a top tourist destination.
“There’s a number of ways of doing that, and the biggest two are around city events in ‘shoulder periods’ — i.e. lower periods in the calendar — and attracting big events to the city. It might be large sporting, music, or conference events. We’re aware that we’re not just bidding against other UK cities, but other large cities around the world”, Brown said.
The funds will be used to amplify marketing campaigns that drive overnight stays, help secure large-scale events, conferences and festivals in low-season months, improve guest welcome and street cleanliness and provide opportunities to futureproof the city’s growing accommodation sector and wider visitor economy.
