A tourist tax introduced in Manchester, UK, has raised £2.8 million (€3.27 million) in its first year.
Aimed at attracting, not deterring visitors
The city became the first in the country to charge a “City Visitor Charge” of £1 per room, per night, last April, after 80% of local hoteliers voted in favour of it. Unlike many tourist fees introduced elsewhere around the world, the charge is not aimed at deterring visitors or addressing overtourism.
On the contrary, the funds raised from the fee are being spent on moves to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit on the sector. The aim is to drive up tourism especially in the traditionally lower occupancy seasons, or “shoulder periods”.
23% rise in available beds
City spokesperson, Kumar Mishra, said the £2.7 million, which is just short of the expected £3 million touted when it was launched, had been spent on street cleaning and promotional campaigns by the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) – an organisation uniting 74 hotels and serviced apartment providers in the city, and established in 2023 to operate the fund. Part of its remit is to maintain high occupancy rates in the city since the growing number of hotels and apartments is feared to outstrip demand.
The number of available beds in the city has increased by almost 23% since 2019, from 10,500 to 12,900. At the same time, occupancy rates have dropped by 3%, according to data released by the organisation. A further 6,000 rooms are slated to become available during 2024.
Street cleaning, adverts and events
Measures taken already to attract tourists to the city beyond the high season thanks to the tax have included support for the city’s event calendar, with the Manchester Flower Festival, Manchester Pride and Chinese New Year celebrations given a boost. In addition, new music events and business conferences have been brought to the city. Funding has also gone into training for security staff, as well as city centre street cleaning.
Coming next, according to Mishra, “big plans” are afoot, aimed at bringing in even higher numbers of visitors. The ABID’s first chairperson, Annie Brown, said last year the city would be looking to make partnerships not only with music events and conferences but also “large sporting events”, though she recognised this was a challenge the city needed to rise to, adding: “We’re aware that we’re not just bidding against other UK cities, but other large cities around the world”.
