Hull to copy VENICE and introduce the UK’s first tax on tourists ‘to promote the area’
IF agreed, Hull will join other European cities including Florence, Paris, Rome, Prague and Venice in making its five million annual visitors pay
BRITAIN’S first tourism tax is being lined up — for Hull.
The levy would raise cash to promote the area.
If agreed, Hull will join other European cities including Florence, Paris, Rome, Prague and Venice in making visitors pay.
It will add five per cent to the cost of a hotel room if levied at the rate used in Amsterdam.
But Tory councillor John Abbott warned: “It might well destroy jobs in the tourist industry.”
The idea is being considered by the city council, which wants to create a “world-class visitor attraction” for its five million tourists a year.
Hull — 2017 UK City of Culture — is to carry out a feasibility study but will require Government approval.
Culture and leisure chief Terry Geraghty said: “The tax would be spent on marketing to make sure our hotels are full seven days a week.”
