FEATURE | BRISTOL TOURISM TAX
where in three or four years time there will
not be any money for any discretionary
spending, because the adult social care
and the children social care budgets will be
larger than the total amount we get from
central government. In that context we need
to look at innovative and different ways
of securing funding for local government
services so the tourist tax was one proposal
we put forward as a possibility that was
worth investigating.”
Combley’s proposal is that a tax of
around £1 per person per night - just over
0.5% of the total tourism spend in Bristol
- would raise an additional £12m for the
local council annually. “This could pay for
additional community policing which is being
cut by the labour administration in Bristol. It
could also pay for additional street cleaning
which is being reduced, or it could pay to
THE COUNCIL HERE IN
BRISTOL KEEP TALKING
ABOUT CITIES LIKE
AMSTERDAM, NEW
YORK, PARIS THAT ALL
HAVE THIS TAX BUT
THESE ARE ALL HUGE
CITIES WITH HUGE
INFRASTRUCTURE -
BRISTOL IS JUST NOT IN
THAT BALLPARK AT THE
MOMENT.
‘‘
Mark Payne, former head,
Bristol Hoteliers
Association
support the city’s cultural offering.
“Our feeling was that a pound per
person per night would have a small
negative impact on the local hotel industry.
But the positive impact of having those
museums and galleries open and having
streets that are clean and inviting -
having all those functional services and
infrastructure around the city will have a
much bigger beneficial impact on tourism in
the city.”
Detrimental impact?
Combley believes that such a little change
in price with have little to no effect on
whether people will choose to visit Bristol. “I
think that people do make decisions about
where they go on price but I would say that
those price differences very rarely come
down to £1 more or less so I don’t know
how big an impact it would have on people
THIS WOULD INCLUDE
THINGS LIKE STREET
CLEANING AND
POLICING BUT IT
WOULD ALSO INCLUDE
PROMOTING THE
CULTURAL OFFERING
OF THE CITY SUCH
AS MUSEUMS AND
GALLERIES AND OTHER
ATTRACTIONS HERE IN
BRISTOL.
‘‘
Eleanor Combley,
head councillor,
Bristol Green Party
in Average Daily Rate (ADR) and from a choosing or not choosing to visit Bristol.” in price that will have an effect but the
visitor number perspective as it is.” She points to graffiti removal and improved fact that Bristol could be the first city to
policing as reasons for hoteliers to be in succumb to a tax in the UK. “Being first will
Why now? favour of a tourism tax: “All those things that be detrimental,” he asserts.
Eleanor Combley, head councillor for Bristol’s make the city feel like an inviting place to Green Party, who proposed the idea, says be have a much bigger impact on the hotel about cities like Amsterdam, New York, Paris
her council is exploring the idea due to industry [than the tax].” that all have this tax but these are all huge
government cuts. “Funding to local councils
is being cut and cut every year to the point
24
www.hotelowner.co.uk
Former association head Payne,
however, believes it is not just the increase
“The council here in Bristol keep talking
cities with huge infrastructure - Bristol is
just not in that ballpark at the moment. If
May 2018