Similar charges for overnight visitors already exist in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Tourists in the West End and (inset, credit LDRS) Sadiq Khan

Sir Sadiq Khan has voiced his support for a London ‘tourist tax’ in a move which could eventually see overnight visitors charged extra for every night they spend in the capital.

Similar charges already exist in several European cities, like Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam, and are typically added to a traveller’s hotel bill at the end of their stay.

In England, no local authority has the power – without permission from the government – to directly impose a straightforward tourist tax, though Manchester and Liverpool city councils have introduced a form of tourism levy via a legal workaround.

The mayor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service in October that he was “happy to look into” whether a charge on overnight stays for travellers could work for London. He said he would be “following the evidence”, after the idea was discussed at the Centre for London think tank’s annual conference.

But in a shift in tone this week, Khan expressed his support for the idea, after being publicly asked about it at City Hall by a Labour ally.

Speaking at Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday (20th), London Assembly member Bassam Mahfouz listed Tokyo, Lisbon, Barcelona, Prague and New York City as places which already have tourist taxes.

“Isn’t it about time that London has the power to do the same thing?,” the Labour member for Ealing and Hillingdon asked.

Khan said: “The thing about those cities is, many of us visit them, and don’t really mind paying the extra few euros, in relation to a tourism levy.

“I think the government should be looking at giving us the powers to have an accommodation levy. But my promise to the hotels and Airbnbs and so forth is the money would be used to improve the environment around that, to encourage more tourists.

“What would be unfair, I think, is if money was raised and was spent elsewhere, and people not seeing the benefits of the moneys being raised locally or regionally – so it’s really important to give that reassurance to the sector, because they’ve had a tough few years, particularly post-pandemic.

“If we can reassure the sector that we can work on a scheme that benefits inward tourism, it benefits more tourists to come, I think they’d be supportive of it as well.”

Mahfouz replied: “Thank you, mayor, for that reassurance, and clearly if it works well in places like Paris and New York City, it could work here.”

At October’s Centre for London conference, local politicians from each of London’s major political parties gave their backing to a tourist tax. Kim Taylor-Smith, the Tory deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said the idea was a “no brainer”, while City Hall’s Lib Dem group leader Hina Bokhari said she was “very supportive” of it.

However, UK Hospitality, a trade body representing the sector, said additional taxes would be “extremely damaging”.

The government has been approached for comment.

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