Cornwall tourism chief warns holidaymakers could possibly be taxed when visiting seaside | EUROtoday

The Cornwall tourism chief has warned holidaymakers that he may “actually envision” a tax on tourists being rolled out in the near future.

More than four million people visit Cornwall for a holiday every year, while an extra 12 million make day visits, according to a local committee report.

Malcolm Bell, the chief executive of Visit Cornwall, has now voiced his support for a “Cornish tax” to profit from these visits.

“It is a time to have the debate, not rush into action, engage with people and look at the art of the possible,” he told local outlet Cornwall Live.

It comes after Venice, in Italy, became the world’s first city to introduce a levy for tourists in an effort to thin the crowds that throng its canals.

Simone Venturini, the city councillor responsible for tourism and social cohesion, said the scheme would help Venice find “a brand new stability”. But the 5 euro cost brought about tons of to protest towards what they seen as a transfer turning Venice right into a “theme park”.

Mr Bell says a Cornwall tax needs to be utilized in tandem with neighbouring Devon to keep away from forcing vacationers away from Cornwall. “There is no point in Devon not having one and us having one,” he mentioned.

But the tax should be used to instantly fund native enterprise, he mentioned, as an alternative of going again to the treasury as per regular taxes. He famous how the UK is already one of many highest-taxed customer economies in Europe, second solely to France, however that this cash doesn’t return into the native economic system.

“The normal argument would be we need some distribution of the money that already goes to the majesty’s treasury to instead go back into local levels,” he mentioned.

He believes that vacationers can be glad to pay the tax in the event that they knew that the cash was going again into the native economic system.

“We have 85 per cent repeat business in Cornwall – holidaymakers who regularly return would want the levy to help Cornwall and its residents,” he mentioned. “If holidaymakers want to contribute, if they think it’s going to the right cause, I wouldn’t mind.”

That Cornwall is such a preferred vacation spot additionally suggests a want for well-maintained native environments, he instructed, which is an extra argument for a tax that helps shield the area’s pure magnificence and wildlife.

“People are cynical and want reassurance that their extra payment is going towards something that is appropriate,” he mentioned. “But if it is just another levy added onto VAT and taxes? That is probably not what people want to see.”

It comes as Cornwall Council has launched a councillor-led inquiry aimed toward enhancing the year-round advantages of tourism whereas supporting locals with well-paid employment and group companies.

Some of the concepts put ahead at a council assembly in January included urging the federal government to stagger college holidays and bringing in a registration scheme for short-term Airbnb-style vacation lets.

Another was a vacationer tax, with councillor Mike Thomas, a former college instructor, calling for the choice to be taken extra significantly.