‘A visitor levy is not just sensible — it is overdue’

Coastal communities have long embodied the joy and escape of a British summer holiday. Margate in my constituency even lays claim to being the first working-class seaside holiday destination, when late Victorian rail travel made the coast accessible to the masses.

Tourism remains the lifeblood of our history, culture and economy in Thanet. Millions of visitors come each year to enjoy our beaches, galleries, music venues, and pubs and restaurants — just as they do across the country, from Scarborough to Blackpool and from Tenby to Cornwall.

Local people understand that tourism is central to what makes Thanet special. But too often it is residents who are left dealing with the pressures it can bring: seasonal spikes in crime and antisocial behaviour, overstretched public services, and an epidemic of littering.

At the same time, the growth of unregulated short-term holiday lets is pushing rents and house prices ever higher and leaving streets full of empty AirBnBs through the winter. Hotels have dwindled as they struggle to compete, weakening the cohesion and stability that thriving seaside communities depend on.

READ MORE: ‘The coastal towns where young people have been left behind by Whitehall’

Managing the conflict between the needs of tourists and locals is left to councils and police forces, but they are being asked to do so with one hand tied behind their back. Local authority funding was gutted under Tory austerity, and deprived seaside towns still struggle with low investment and a low tax base compared to big urban centres.

Meanwhile, councils cannot even properly register and license short-term lets, let alone raise the revenue needed to cover the extra costs they bring. Without a licensing regime authorities cannot accurately forecast waste collection needs, or manage antisocial behaviour linked to a small minority of poorly managed premises.

This matters because a tourist economy only thrives if it is well-managed. When visitors see litter piling up or antisocial behaviour going unchecked, they are less likely to return.

This is where a local visitor levy like that proposed in this week’s King’s Speech – combined with a licensing regime for short-term lets – could make a transformative difference. Too often caricatured as a “holiday tax”, a levy targeted at overnight stays would actually create a dedicated funding stream for the services most affected by visitor numbers. It could and should be immediately reinvested in the local area in which it was raised, directly into things like beach clean-up crews and waste services, public toilets, and policing support during peak periods.

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Combined with a licensing regime so the levy could be applied to short-term lets, and graduated – rather than flat – to ensure it was reasonable and manageable for smaller, family-owned hotels and BnBs, this could be a gamechanger for the management of seaside towns.

Some argue that a visitor levy would undermine the working-class seaside holiday. But I do not see why it should be my working-class residents who are left to pick up the bill for visitors, especially those staying in the expensive holiday lets hollowing out their town centres. I want to ensure that when ordinary people visit Thanet they have a great time somewhere that is safe, well-managed, and clean and tidy.

Crucially, an optional and locally controlled levy is exactly that: optional. Councils would be able to introduce it only where local circumstances justify it, tailor it to local economic conditions, and ringfence the funding for community benefit rather than losing it to central government.

Such levies are not a novelty, but are already commonplace across Europe and in some parts of the UK. After all, Thanet’s overseas competitors – just a short flight away – already have these levies in place to ensure they are able to offer visitors the high standards they expect when they part with their hard-earned cash to take a holiday.

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At a time when local services are under strain and visitor peaks are becoming ever more intense, giving coastal councils the option to introduce a visitor levy is not just sensible — it is overdue. It is not an attack on tourism; it is an investment in its sustainability, and in the communities who welcome visitors but who are too often left to pick up the bill.

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