Beginning April 1 of this year, Manchester will become the first city in the UK to charge a tourist tax.
The fee will be charged per room per night in the city’s center’s hotels and short-stay apartments and will go towards investing in tourism initiatives, street cleanliness, and infrastructure repair. The revenue is expected to be around £3 million per year.
But the fee is not intended to deter visitors as it only costs £1 (around $1.23 currently).
Manchester is the UK’s third most popular city to visit as tourism brings in £7.5 billion every year to the economy.
While this tax may be unfamiliar to Americans, Barcelona in Spain has been charging a tax and surcharge for tourists since 2012 and will increase the fee to €2.75 on the same date of April 1. Other Spanish regions like Valencia and the Balearic Islands, including Ibiza, also charge a tourist tax of up to €4 per night.
Venice, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland all also charge some form of tourist tax and this is something to consider when looking to travel abroad.
Manchester is the home of Parklife Music Festival, the largest metropolitan music festival in the UK founded by the producers of The Warehouse Project. Their 2023 lineup contains a list of dance music greats including Fred again.., Skrillex, Jamie Jones B2B Michael Bibi, Carl Cox (hybrid live), Gorgon City, and Honey Dijon.
Featured image from PARKLIFE FESTIVAL
