This English City is the First in the U.K. to Introduce a Tourist Tax

Planning a trip to England's third-largest city? Your visit just became a little pricier.

Starting April 1, 2023, travelers to Manchester, England, are required to pay a City Visitor Charge. It's the first city in the U.K. to impose a tourist tax on its visitors.

The new charge will add an extra £1 (approximately US$1.23) to nightly hotel and accommodation rates in the city center, billed to guests at checkout. The local government will collect these funds directly from the hotels.

As reported by the Manchester Evening News, the collected funds will support the enhancement of the tourist economy through major events, conferences, festivals, marketing initiatives, and efforts to maintain cleanliness in the city.

The city anticipates that the Accommodation Business Improvement District (BID), the newly established organization to oversee the funds, will generate approximately £3 million annually. Local hoteliers approved the fee during a referendum in 2022.

Although Manchester is the first city in the U.K. to implement such a scheme, tourist taxes have been in place around the globe. In the U.S., cities like New York and Atlanta impose hotel fees of $1.50 and $5 per night, respectively, while San Francisco charges a Transient Occupancy Tax of 12 percent on the nightly rate. Several major European cities also apply nightly fees, either as a flat rate (Amsterdam charges €3 per night and Venice €6) or based on the hotel rating (as seen in Barcelona and Rome). In Rome, for instance, fees vary from €3 per night for budget accommodations to €7 for luxury hotels.

These government-collected fees are typically utilized for a range of purposes, from implementing green initiatives to enhancing local livability and developing tourism infrastructure.

Other regions in the U.K. are also exploring the introduction of their own tourist taxes. Edinburgh is awaiting approval from the Scottish parliament for a £2-per-night charge, while the Welsh government is currently assessing what an appropriate amount would be, with no specific timeline for a decision yet.