Several business travel associations have warned about the potentially negative impact of giving mayors in England the power to introduce their own levies on overnight accommodation and are urging policymakers to explicitly exempt business travelers.
The UK government last year announced a plan to allow the 13 Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England, which include London, Manchester and Liverpool, to impose local accommodation levies. A consultation on this proposal closed at midnight on Wednesday
The Business Travel Association, the Global Business Travel Association and the Institute of Travel Management submitted a joint response to the consultation, stating that "business travel should not be treated as a funding mechanism for local tourism investment."
"Business travellers already contribute significantly through business rates, corporation tax, income tax and transport fares," they argued in the joint submission. "Including business travel [in an overnight levy] risks mischaracterising essential economic activity as discretionary tourism and places additional costs on employers, employees and supply chains. Any national framework must therefore include a clear and explicit exemption for business travel undertaken for work purposes."
BTA commercial director Andrew Clarke said: "Business travelers are not tourists. Their travel is non-discretionary, economically productive and directly linked to employment, investment, skills development and regional growth. Applying a levy designed as a 'tourist tax' to business travel risks creating a de facto tax on UK businesses, productivity, and inward investment."
The associations also called for "clear guidance" and "national consistency", warning that a percentage-based or locally varied levy "would increase complexity and costs for organisations operating across multiple regions".
Wider Travel Industry Concerns
Travel and hospitality industry bodies have also raised concerns about the timing and impact of the plans, particularly for a UK hospitality sector already facing increased employment costs and business rates.
UKHospitality warned that an accommodation levy could negatively impact business travel and "risked reducing demand" for conferences, exhibitions and other events. The association is also worried that mayors could take different approaches when imposing an overnight levy, leading to a "confusing patchwork of rules and higher compliance costs for multi‑site operators."
Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, added: "This is the wrong policy at the worst possible time. Accommodation businesses are already battling enormous cost increases and declining confidence. Adding a new tax on to family holidays, business travel and international tourism will strangle growth, reduce investment and put jobs at risk."
"While we urge government to rethink this policy entirely, if it does go ahead, it must be designed in the least damaging way, with national consistency, a simple flat‑fee model, and receipts used for the benefit of hospitality and tourism, alongside genuine involvement from the businesses expected to deliver it."
Meanwhile, research from the World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the UK economy could lose at least £14 billion in revenue annually from international visitors if an overnight tax of £10 per night is introduced.
A survey of around 2,500 international travelers by the WTTC found that 29 percent of visitors from the key source markets of France, Germany and the US would consider not travelling to the UK if a £10 overnight charge was introduced.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO, said: "Our research couldn't be any clearer – proposed visitor taxes would lead to a slump in international visitor numbers to the UK.
"Billions of pounds will be wiped from the UK economy, leading to much higher unemployment, especially among small shops, restaurants and suppliers to the hospitality sector."
Outside England, the Scottish capital Edinburgh is due to introduce a 5 percent levy on all overnight accommodation for visitors staying in the city from July 2026.