UK's favourite seaside hotspot considers new tourist tax to cope with crowds
The UK's favourite seaside county is considering taxing tourists in a bid to preserve local communities and raise some cash.
Proposals to levy a £1 tourist tax has been tabled at Cornwall Council. If the plans are adopted, the county would be following in the footsteps of Manchester, which became the first UK destination to start charging visitors last year.
Independent Cllr Mike Thomas spoke in favour of the idea at a meeting this week, Cornwall Live reported.
He said: "In terms of a tourist tax, which in my opinion hasn't been referenced enough - there's a fear that people will be against it. Manchester has demonstrated that people will not be negative when it's actually put in place - £1 a night per person up to a maximum of 21 nights would bring in revenue that people in this Duchy would feel was paying for the facilities that people visiting are using."
The council is also considering tighter controls on the Airbnb market after years of complaints from locals that holiday let landlords are pushing up the prices of homes too high.
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Do you live in Cornwall? What do you make of all the tourists? Email [email protected] or comment below
Towns like Penzance can become overwhelmed by tourists in the summer months (Getty Images)It wouldn't be the first UK spot to make the move; since April 1, 2023, Manchester has started charging tourists an extra £1 per night when they stay in hotels, but only for up to 21 nights in a row.
Cornwall - which was recently voted Britain's favourite seaside spot - has had a difficult time balancing the demands of local communities against the tourism sector. A report found that in 2023 18.4% of Cornwall's workforce was employed in "visitor economy" groups, compared to just 10% across the rest of the UK. When you factor in businesses linked to tourism, like food and drink suppliers and builders, this figure could be as high as 30% of workers in Cornwall.
Data analysts Lightcast have found that the visitor economy contributed nearly £952m to Cornwall's economy in 2021. Other estimates, such as those from Visit Cornwall, suggest the economic value could be over £1 billion.
Despite the large streams of income coming into the county, wages in Cornwall remain low. The average wage in Cornwall was £24,0376 in 2022, with 12.8% of all jobs paid below the Real Living Wage (RLW) rate.
In Cornwall, 84% of all employees in the tourism sector work in accommodation and food service, equating to roughly 35,000 people.
Although the tourist tax is a new arrival on British shores, many cities and countries have been levying them for a long time. We've rounded up a list of most of the major locations which charge such a fee here, so you don't get slapped with an extra charge without due warning.
This Spring after several delays, Venice will start charging visitors to the city €5 (£4.30) per person, per day. The scheme, which will run for 30 days initially as a trial, is designed to reduce over tourism in the city, which some fear is literally and figuratively eroding the Queen of the Adriatic.
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