Overnight Visitor Levy / Tourism Tax – Update
A letter from Lilla Bathurst, Manager of Ripon BID
Dear BID members
Today (03/02/26) I attended a meeting arranged by Harrogate Chamber of Commerce and Harrogate BID which brought together various accommodation providers in the area to hear from the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire on the proposed Overnight Visitor Levy (or Tourism Tax).
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire took the attendees through his vision which can be read broadly here
David stressed that he felt the Combined Authority, rather than the Local Authority or Central Government, was best placed to run a scheme such as this as there is no “one-size fits all solution”. York and North Yorkshire is unique in looking at implementing such a tax which has not been done in a mixed urban, coastal and rural area before. His vision is that funds could be used county-wide on an overarching strategy to strengthen skills for the tourism industry, strengthen transport links, not just for visitors but also for those working in the industry – implemented by the Combined Authority. A second tier could then be created which would be pots of money made available for organisations working in York and North Yorkshire in a similar vein to the Vibrant & Sustainable High Street Fund – a blended approach.
Questions I asked on behalf of Ripon accommodation businesses were:
- In the case of static caravans and holiday parks, how will the levy be collected? At present owners of static caravans or lodges come and go as they please within the season – caravans and lodges are effectively second homes. A: this is something that will be addressed during the consultation period.
- How much of the £52m that could be raised will be used up by administration costs by the body running this? A: The Combined Authority was best placed to implement the scheme and already had staff in place however they would need to employ more. No cost was given.
- Will the funds be ring-fenced for the area where the funds are raised? A: No, as this would limit what could be done with the funds.
- If these measures are put in place will there be a VAT concession for the industry? A: This is one of the questions being asked to Government.
- Will visiting contractors and York and North Yorkshire residents be exempt. A: This was a possibility and therefore the pot of money would be reduced, but no answer given on by how much.
- For a small business such as a guest house a £2 levy per person per night would have a greater impact on business than a large chain hotel – how would this be mitigated? A: Work was still to be done on the negative impacts and guest houses could be on a sliding scale.
At this stage I feel there is still very little clarity on how this tax will work – there is no definite scope for what businesses would need to charge the levy and how they would charge it or what the enforcement would be. Work is underway by York St John’s University to gather data and Ripon BID (and the industry as a whole) will be further consulted as this work continues. David Skaith stated that he is pressing Government to pass the legislation to allow York and North Yorkshire to introduce this in 2027. I feel that this is an unrealistic target given that the simpler (and much smaller in scale) approach of the Harrogate Accommodation BID has taken 2 years to get to the ballot stage.
I would urge businesses with an interest in this matter to fill out the Government consultation on the matter: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/overnight-visitor-levy-in-england
As more information comes to light I will bring it to you.
With best wishes
Lilla Bathurst, Manager Ripon BID
Tel: 01765 530910
Email: manager@riponbid.co.uk
