Downtown in Business has added its voice to calls from business leaders in Liverpool and Manchester urging the Government to slow down and rethink proposals for a national tourist tax, warning that rushed policy decisions risk damaging a hospitality sector already under significant pressure.
Frank Mckenna, Chief Executive and Group Chair of Downtown in Business said:
“This is too complex an issue to be rushed. The hospitality industry is already contending with increased business rates, rising operating costs and ongoing economic uncertainty. The last thing the sector needs is another poorly planned intervention that could later require a policy reversal.”
Liverpool Business Improvement District and Manchester City Co have written a collective response to the consultation on tourist tax being conducted by MHCLG which can be viewed below.
This is too complex an issue to be rushed and we would urge the Government to slow down and think this through. There has been limited opportunity to speak to the business sector it directly impacts; hotels and hospitality.
The reason the ABID model and visitor levy works so well in Manchester and Liverpool is because it is private sector led, it puts the hotel industry at the heart of the strategy and it gives them a voice. It took years of work, consultation, talking and planning to get this right. This is a ground-up approach that is generating real economic results for both cities because it has empowered the industry to have a say in the visitor economy.
Over the next 2-years, the two ABIDs are forecast to invest upwards of £17 million in Manchester and Liverpool, making the cities more appealing to visitors and improving local prospects with more investment, more jobs, greater opportunity and increased pride.
Instead, as we have said to the government as part of this consultation exercise, the plans for a so-called national “tourist tax” have not given the industry a voice and are too vague, currently. Instead it burdens them with another layer of bureaucracy and taxation. This is a sector that is at the forefront of business rates increases. There is a real risk that a proposal that is not planned out, that disregards the complexity of the situation ends up hitting a city driven regeneration policy and undermines two years of good work.
We cannot afford another u-turn, we need solid and sound plans to be put in place before any decisions are made.
We are working with our stakeholders across the UK but we would say slow down, let’s do this right the first time, not have to pick up the pieces further down the road.
Read the full response to the government consultation here: https://liverpoolbidcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CityCo-and-Liverpool-BID-response-to-Visitor-Charge-consultation-Februa.pdf
