The Tourism Alliance, which represents more than 65 trade associations across the UK visitor economy, has raised concerns about the newly introduced Visitor Levy (England) Bill.
Presented in the House of Commons on 4 November 2026, the Bill would allow strategic authorities to impose a levy on overnight stays of up to 28 nights.
Eddy Leviten, Executive Director of the Tourism Alliance, acknowledged that the government had included some safeguards, such as allowing booking platforms to collect the levy and setting thresholds for smaller operators. However, he argued that the Bill fails to protect the visitor economy it seeks to tax.
Leviten criticised the lack of a cap on the levy rate and the absence of provisions to ring-fence the revenue for tourism. Under the proposed arrangements, authorities would pay the proceeds into the mayor's general fund without requiring specific allocations for the visitor economy. He also pointed out that local councils within mayoral areas would have no veto over the levy.
"Ministers point to the UK's low share of local taxes," Leviten said, "but they ignore how heavily visitors are already taxed nationally."
The Tourism Alliance is calling for several amendments, including a statutory cap on the levy rate, ring-fencing revenue for the local visitor economy and giving local councils veto powers. It also wants the government to reduce VAT on accommodation to 10% before introducing any visitor levy.
Tourism contributes £147 billion annually to the UK economy, supports 2.4 million jobs and generates £52 billion in tax revenue. The Alliance argues that an additional levy could further weaken the UK's price competitiveness. The World Economic Forum ranks the country 106th out of 110 countries for price competitiveness.
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