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14
Dec
Harrogate hoteliers concerned about mayor's tourist tax, MP says
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Tom Gordon, has claimed that hoteliers in the district are concerned about the impact of a mayoral tourist tax.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget plans in November that locally-elected mayors would be given the power to introduce the tax and reinvest the money directly into their areas.
The plan won the support of David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, who described it as a “total game-changer” for the region.
However, Mr Gordon told the House of Commons that local hoteliers were concerned that such a tax would put tourists off towns like Harrogate.
Speaking in the house on Wednesday (December 10), Mr Gordon said:
When I met the Harrogate district chamber of commerce and spoke to the hoteliers in my area, they were concerned about how it would suck many tourists out of towns like Harrogate and pass them off to other areas.
Speaking to ITV's Around the House, the Liberal Democrat MP added that Harrogate hoteliers had been trying to "have their own local version of a tourism tax" which they feared Mr Skaith would "swoop in" and try to take credit for.
The Stray Ferret revealed in November that an Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) could be established in the town, which would aim to support the visitor economy and have the power to levy a £2 per room, per night visitor levy on hotels.
The proposals were devised by Harrogate Business Improvement District and Harrogate Hospitality & Tourism Association, which would aim to support the visitor economy
A ballot is due to be held in February for hotels to decide whether the BID should be set up.
The move is separate from the mayoral tourism tax.
A spokesperson for Harrogate BID, Harrogate Hospitality & Tourism Association and Harrogate ABID Steering Group told the Stray Ferret previously that it was unclear at this stage how the mayor’s tourist tax would affect the ABID plan, but a ballot would continue to be pursued for the New Year.
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