English mayors push for visitor levy to boost income from tourism | England

A coalition of mayors from across England are urging the government to allow local authorities to bring in a Barcelona-style visitor levy to generate income from tourism.

The group, led by the Liverpool city region mayor, Steve Rotheram, argues that a visitor levy would unlock vital funding for tourism and cultural infrastructure, empower regional growth and reduce dependence on central government funding.

The letter to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been co-signed by the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham; the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan; the north-east mayor, Kim McGuinness; Richard Parker, the mayor of the West Midlands; and the West Yorkshire mayor, Tracy Brabin.

They say provisions could be made in the forthcoming English devolution…