Liverpool’s Accommodation BID, representing local hotels, urges Government to ‘slow down’ on plans for a new tourist tax, putting it at odds with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram who enthusiastically supports the idea. Tony McDonough reports
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram is keen on new powers to introduce a tourist tax in Liverpool city region but the body representing city hotels is less keen on the idea.
In November 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves indicated she would grant new powers to devolved authorities to implement a visitor levy on people staying in hotels and Airbnb accommodation.
Possibly set at 5%, it is estimated this could raise up to £11m in the Liverpool city region each year to help support events and attract more visitors to Merseyside.
Mr Rotheram said last year: “For too long, cities like ours have been expected to compete on a global stage without the basic tools that other places take for granted. Cities such as Barcelona and Paris raise tens of millions each year through similar schemes.”
However, Liverpool’s Accommodation BID (ABID), one of three Business Improvement Districts run by Liverpool BID Company, has joined forces with its counterpart in Manchester to urge the Government to “slow down and think this through”.
In the letter sent to Whitehall, they say: “Plans for a so-called national “tourist tax” have not given the industry a voice and are too vague, currently. Instead it burdens them with another layer of bureaucracy and taxation.”
If introduced in 2028, this levy will replace the current £2-a-night scheme run by the ABID that is applied in Liverpool city centre only. It was introduced in the summer after a vote of accommodation providers. It expires in December 2027.
The statement from the BIDs added: “This is too complex an issue to be rushed and we would urge the Government to slow down and think this through. There has been limited opportunity to speak to the business sector it directly impacts; hotels and hospitality.
“The reason the ABID model and visitor levy works so well in Manchester and Liverpool is because it is private sector-led, it puts the hotel industry at the heart of the strategy and it gives them a voice.
“It took years of work, consultation, talking and planning to get this right. This is a ground-up approach that is generating real economic results for both cities because it has empowered the industry to have a say in the visitor economy.”
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During the next two years, the two ABIDs are forecast to invest upwards of £17m in Liverpool and Manchester, making the cities more appealing to visitors and improving local prospects with more investment and more jobs.
“This is a sector that is at the forefront of business rates increases,” the statement said. “There is a real risk that a proposal that is not planned out, that disregards the complexity of the situation ends up hitting a city driven regeneration policy and undermines two years of good work.”