Manchester becomes UK's first destination to tax tourists

London: In a first of its kind, UK’s Rishi Sunak government has introduced ‘tourist tax’ in Manchester. As per reports, anyone travelling in Manchester will be asked to pay in order to stay from coming weeks. Starting on April 1, every guest staying in a hotel or vacation rental in the city core will have to pay £1 per night, per room. It is hoped that the tax, officially known as the “City Visitor Charge,” which will generate £3 million annually, won’t deter travellers from visiting Manchester. Following in the footsteps of popular European destinations like Madrid and Rome, the city is the first in the UK to enact a tourist levy. The fee was instituted in advance of the city’s substantial expansion of the hotel and vacation rental industries. Over the next few years, Manchester will gain close to 6,000 hotel rooms, resulting in an additional million overnight visits. Four out of five hoteliers who participated in a poll last year on whether or not to impose the fee said they would. Every “hotel and short stay serviced apartment” in the city core with a rateable value of £75,000 or more will start charging the fee at the beginning of the following month. As per the officials, the funds will contribute to the establishment of the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District, which will be used over the following five years to “improve the visitor experience” and “support future growth of the visitor economy.” Report say, more UK cities are to join the trail of tourists tax. After local authorities approved plans for a £2 per night tourist tax in November of last year, Edinburgh is about to enact it. In recent years, Oxford, Bath, and Hull have thought about making a comparable move but decided against it. Visitors to Manchester will be responsible for the additional cost as part of their hotel or Airbnb bill, just like in other significant European towns with tourist taxes. Its £1 rate is significantly less than other fees of a comparable nature. Tourists in Barcelona must spend €4 (£3.50) per night, a price that will rise by at least €1.50 by April 1, 2024. Visitors to Venice pay between €1 and €5 based on the hotel’s star rating. The watery city is looking at charging day trippers up to €10 per person to visit in a bid to ease over tourism. Annie Brown, the first chair of the ABID, said the Manchester tax was a smart move. “I think (the message it sends) has been a consideration, however when you compare it to European cities that have had taxes and visitor levies in place for a number of years, we feel it’s a small amount comparatively,” she told Manchester Evening News. “There are other cities in the UK looking to put in place what Manchester has done, I don’t think it’s a charge that’s off-putting. It is anticipated to generate about £3 million per year, which will pay for the ABID, the attractions, cleaning, and the execution of our business strategy. In terms of the money it brings in, it will be the biggest accommodation BID outside of central London. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.