Following news this month that Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) will introduce a tourist tax, which could lead to increased costs for coach operators or their clients, hoteliers are planning to put in an appeal to the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling up, Housing and Communities.
A “visitor charge” of £2 per night per occupied room is due to be payable by large hotels in the council area from 1 July after BCP Accommodation Business Improvement District’s (ABID) ballot of the eligible accommodation establishments earlier this year.
It will be up to the hotels whether they pass on this fee to guests or agents such as tour operators and they will also initially be able to apply for relief in cases of pre-existing contract arrangements.
Thirty-one of the approximately 70 hotels with the qualifying rateable value of more than £40,000 took part in the ballot, with 16 voting in favour of the plan and 15 against, BCP ABID announced on 14 May.
However, a group of 15-20 hoteliers in the BCP area are planning to appeal against the levy’s introduction after hearing of a number of hotel owners who claim not to have received voting papers or notice of the ballot.
It is understood that such an appeal to Secretary of State Michael Gove would need to be made within weeks of BCP ABID’s decision, therefore the action is planned to be completed by early June.
Responding to the claims, a spokesperson for BCP ABID says: “A full independent ballot process was carried out by the returning officer and its agents, Civica Election Services.
“At the same time, a full engagement process was run by the ABID. The vote was ratified by the returning officer and conducted with full accountability and transparency.
“Ballot papers were sent to all eligible accommodation providers, engagement was conducted by ABID and its advisors at all stages of the creation of the ABID from the initial idea through the successful ballot.
“A business plan was created and sent to all eligible accommodation providers and feedback and comments were requested.”
The south Dorset council area would be the only coastal resort in the UK to charge a tourist tax after Manchester last year set the precedent, following the lead of other towns and cities abroad. Liverpool’s ABID has also recently introduced a fee per accommodation provider, although it is not directly charged to the guest.
UK Coach Operators Association Managing Director Peter Bradley and others in the industry have expressed concern that operators could be left out of pocket when insufficient notice is given of such levies.
However, BCP ABID’s business plan acknowledges that, with accommodation providers having agreed rates up to two years in advance, it may not be possible to add the charge retrospectively. Therefore, in such cases, for the first two years of the scheme, providers will be able to apply for relief or discount, if the necessary documentation is supplied within three months of the visitor charge’s commencement date.
BCP ABID insists the charge is necessary following the withdrawal of funding for tourism from BCP Council.
Adding to its statement on 24 May, the ABID says: “This is a moment for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole to come out of the shadows from years of chronic underfunding and make this the best destination in the UK to visit as a safe, secure, vibrant, eventful and successful tourist destination.
“The ABID is run by an independent board made up of a majority of accommodation providers from a cross-section of accommodation sectors, alongside key stakeholders from across the conurbation.
“The ABID levy is not another tax. The money raised will be spent on projects agreed by the board and, as per the business plan, is based on overnight stays at £2 per room not per person.
“The levy can be recouped by accommodation providers by way of a visitor charge, should they wish to do so. Our business plan recognises the fact that accommodation providers may have parties or trips booked in advance of 1 July 2024 and, following the successful vote as a board, we will take this into consideration in accordance with the business plan.
“Monies raised by the ABID levy will help improve the towns’ visitors’ experience, enhancing the look and feel the of the three towns. It will not replace baseline services such as cleaning beaches and emptying bins. It will replace our lost tourism budget, enhancing the visitor experience and benefitting accommodation providers in the future.
“Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s accommodation providers are following hot on the heels of incredibly successful ABIDs in Liverpool and Manchester, we are being watched by many other tourist destinations, and anticipate that similar ABIDs will be introduced in many areas over the next two to three years, such that this will become commonplace.”
It adds: “There is no ‘fall-back’ position. Due to cuts in funding, if the ABID had not been successful, these cuts would have meant that websites such as pooletourism.com, visit-christchurch.co.uk and bournemouth.co.uk would have been switched off and all marketing of the towns would have ceased in their entirety – event teams, marketing teams and tourism teams have already been closed down or reduced to skeleton staff and event funding stripped back to barest bones. There is no plan B.”
Picture credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/34085730@N06/53202617335/ under Creative Commons License.
