In places like the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, which rely heavily on tourism, businesses are concerned that visitors will instead go to other parts of the country that choose not to impose such a levy.<\/p>\n
Large parts of England\u2019s east coast, for example \u2013 from the seaside resort of Skegness to the town of Hartlepool \u2013 are expected to remain levy-free after their mayors, from Reform UK and the Conservative party, opposed the proposals on Thursday.<\/p>\n
But are overnight levies a success? The evidence suggests that it depends what mayors want to achieve, but they could be very lucrative.<\/p>\n
They were introduced in cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona and Venice as a way to prevent over-tourism. But there is little evidence they kept visitors at bay: trips to all three destinations have risen consistently over the past decade (despite Amsterdam charging an additional 12.5% for an overnight stay<\/a>, believed to be the most expensive tourist tax in Europe).<\/p>\n In April 2023, Manchester became the first place in the UK to introduce an overnight visitor levy, charging \u00a31 per room per night in the city centre. A study<\/a> published in the journal Tourism Management in 2025 found that the tax had had \u201cno significant impact\u201d on the occupancy of hotels in the city.<\/p>\n In sharp contrast to the vocal opposition of national trade bodies, in Manchester<\/a> it was hospitality businesses that introduced the levy through a business improvement district.<\/p>\n Local leaders say the \u00a31-a-night levy has raised \u00a310.5m in its first three years of operation, with the revenue ringfenced for cultural projects such as the Brit awards and Mobo awards, both hosted in Manchester this year.<\/p>\n When Labour MPs visit Liverpool for their party conference later this month, they too will be paying a tourist tax: a \u00a32-a-night charge was introduced by its hospitality firms last June, raising more than \u00a32m for projects in sports, culture and conferencing.<\/p>\n Councils in Scotland already have the power to introduce local overnight levies, with Wales following suit next April.<\/p>\n Only Edinburgh has taken the plunge so far, introducing a 5% tourist tax on 24 July, although Cardiff, Glasgow and three other regions of Scotland are expected to follow next year.<\/p>\n Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said on Thursday that Edinburgh\u2019s new charge was \u201calready having damaging effects\u201d on the city.<\/p>\n
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