The England tourist tax plan will let mayors charge visitors staying in hotels, short-term rentals and other commercial accommodation. Angela Rayner announced the proposal on Thursday, 10 September, saying locally controlled revenue could support services, public spaces and attractions.
The measure still needs legislation, which ministers expect to introduce in Parliament within months. Mayors are due to publish detailed plans for using the powers in early 2028.
The England tourist tax would be percentage-based
Mayors would set the levy as a percentage of the price of an overnight stay rather than charging every guest a fixed amount.
The proposal does not place a national ceiling on that percentage. However, ministers would limit how many nights could be taxed to avoid drawing long-term rental properties into the scheme.
Commercially rented accommodation would generally face the charge, while properties rented only occasionally on a casual basis would be exempt. Mayors could create further exemptions, including for festival campsites, and share revenue with local councils.
Hospitality businesses warn of job losses
Hospitality groups argue that an open-ended local power could increase accommodation costs and damage tourism-dependent economies.
UKHospitality estimates that a 5% overnight levy across England could lead to 33,000 job losses and reduce economic activity by £2 billion. It says destinations that rely heavily on visitors, including the Lake District, would face the greatest risk.
The owner of Premier Inn, Britain’s largest hotel chain, called the proposal potentially damaging and urged ministers to avoid lasting harm to the sector. Eddie Nelder, co-owner of Choice Hotels properties in Blackpool and the Lake District, described it as another financial blow while operators contend with inflation, higher National Insurance costs and increased minimum wages.
UKHospitality chief executive Allen Simpson also objected to the lack of a statutory percentage cap. He contrasted the proposal with visitor charges in cities including Paris, Rome and Berlin, where he said rates are limited.
Political choices could create a regional patchwork
Visitors may pay different amounts depending on the destination because each mayor can choose whether to introduce a levy and how high to set it.
Every Labour metro mayor has agreed to keep the initial rate at no more than 5%, covering almost every major English city. That commitment is political rather than a nationwide legal limit.
Large parts of England’s east coast are set to take a different approach. Two Reform UK mayors and one Conservative mayor have said they will not impose the charge.
Labour mayors argue that visitor levies have not prevented tourism growth in destinations such as New York and Paris. They say the revenue would allow English regions to invest more in their visitor economies.
Scotland and Wales already have their own models
Other parts of Britain use or are preparing more tightly defined systems, showing how local visitor charges can vary by nation.
| Nation | Area | Levy |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | Edinburgh | The first Scottish city to introduce one, setting the rate at 5% in July |
| Wales | Participating council areas | £1.30 per person per night for most accommodation from April 2027, with charges capped |
The English proposal would transfer substantial tax-raising authority from the Treasury to regional leaders. Supporters see that control as particularly important while local authorities struggle to fund public services.
The government provided £1.3 billion in emergency support to a record 28 councils last year. Several said they could otherwise have gone bankrupt.
North-east England mayor Kim McGuinness said locally retained revenue could support attractions, businesses and major events such as the Great North Run. She also linked the visitor economy to 90,000 existing jobs in the region.
Travellers should wait for local details
There is no announced start date for the English levy and no confirmed city-by-city list of charges, so existing bookings are not yet affected by a defined national scheme.
The next milestones are the bill expected in Parliament within months and the detailed mayoral plans due in early 2028. Those plans should show which destinations will charge visitors, the applicable rate, any exemptions and how revenue will be spent.
Once individual schemes are published, travellers should compare the final accommodation price rather than the room rate alone. They should also check whether a levy is included at booking or collected separately by the property.
