𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The mayor of Lincolnshire has vowed the county will not bring in a tourist tax. Dame Andrea Jenkyns, of Reform UK, said the tax would “pick the pockets of families”.

Lincolnshire is home to Skegness, one of the country’s biggest seaside resorts, visited by four million tourists each year. Mayors in England were given the power to impose a tax on visitors staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and holiday lets last year by Labour. The move was condemned as “damaging” by the UKHospitality industry body, while the Conservatives also slammed it as “another Labour tax on British holidays”.

Confirming Lincolnshire would not be adopting the levy, Dame Andrea said: “Our hospitality sector and local businesses are already pushed to the brink by rising costs and high inflation; they need our support, not more financial hurdles.

“Introducing a visitor levy would only punish the very entrepreneurs who drive our economy and threaten the jobs they provide.”

Dame Andrea’s Greater Lincolnshire authority includes other popular holiday spots like Cleethorpes and Mablethorpe.

The head of Butlin’s, which has a resort in Skegness, has warned low-income families would be hit hardest by a holiday tax.

“People will just stop going – and I don’t think that’s what we’re looking for from the UK economy,” chief executive Jon Hendry-Pickup said, according to the BBC.

“In the spring statement, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said she wanted people to be able to afford to go on holiday. This is likely to have the opposite impact.”

He suggested a £2 per person night levy would be a blow to families with lower incomes and could see a £49 four-night stay for four rise to £81.

A Government spokesperson told the BBC this was “pure speculation”.

“The final design of the visitor levy has not been decided and we have no plans to set a specific rate,” they said.

The Government said the levy would bring English destinations in line with tourist hotspots such as New York, Paris and Milan, which already charge a tourist tax.

It had been called for by regional leaders, including London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham.

Money raised from the tax is intended to be invested in transport, infrastructure and the visitor economy to potentially attract more visitors.