The NCC has been featured in national media coverage highlighting the tourism sector’s concerns about the Government's proposed tourism levy powers announced in the King's Speech. The article highlights the risks that introducing overnight visitor levies could have significant consequences for domestic tourism, potentially costing Britain's holiday industry billions of pounds and discouraging families from taking domestic breaks.
In the article published by The Daily Express online and The Sunday Express newspaper, NCC highlighted that "additional overnight levies would disproportionately impact families choosing lower-cost accommodation", placing extra pressure on households already facing rising costs.
In its full statement, the NCC said:
"Tourism taxes risk becoming a false economy if they make UK destinations less competitive, particularly for domestic visitors and price-sensitive families. Holiday parks and campsites are a vital part of the UK’s affordable domestic tourism market, contributing £12.2bn annually in visitor expenditure to the economy. These businesses are typically concentrated in coastal and rural communities that rely heavily on seasonal tourism income. Additional overnight levies would disproportionately impact families choosing lower-cost accommodation and risk reducing visitor spending in areas where tourism supports local jobs, businesses and supply chains.
The NCC is opposed to the introduction of a visitor tax, especially at a time when holiday parks, campsites, and the wider tourism sector are also facing significant cost pressures. Additional taxes on UK holidays risk discouraging domestic breaks, damaging local economies, reducing local job opportunities and impacting future investment on parks. It will add to the UK's already high tax burden on accommodation through 20% VAT, further harming competitiveness.
If any levy were introduced, NCC will continue to press for a national framework, a clear cap on the rate applied, revenue to be ring-fenced and reinvested in the visitor economy."
The Daily Express article (read here) also featured opposition from a number of other tourism industry organisations, reflecting wider concerns across the sector about proposals that would allow local leaders to introduce overnight visitor charges.
The NCC will continue to engage with policymakers and industry stakeholders to ensure the interests of holiday parks, manufacturers, suppliers and UK holidaymakers are represented as discussions on tourism taxation develop.
