A TOURIST tax would give Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s tourism economy a “competitive edge”, say councillors.

Liverpool became the first place to offer an accommodation business improvement district (ABID) to its visitors, shortly followed by Manchester which charges £1 per night. 

BCP’s ABID is currently expected to charge visitors £2 per night – but this could change with input from the shadow board and it will not be decided by BCP Council. 

At a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, March 6, councillors were quick to support the levy, saying there are opportunities to come with the money it could raise.  

Housing cabinet member Kieron Wilson said it would be “an important step in supporting our tourism”.  

“My only concern is making sure we always have influence in being able to have a voice in the room,” he said. “We are democratically elected and we shouldn't lose that.” 

BCP Council would have a seat on the ABID panel. 

Cllr Richard Burton added it will “secure the long-term future of tourism in the area”. 

Deputy leader Millie Earl said: “We’ve heard across the country there are around 20 areas in the process of creating ABIDs... we need to have the competitive edge.  

“If we fall behind, we run the risk of losing out of that market.” 

Cabinet member for the environment Andy Hadley added: “We need to keep attractions going for us and this seems like a good way for us to do with the absence of central government catching up with the rest of Europe and introducing a tourist tax.” 

As reported, the levy could generate around £2m per year for the area and would be reinvested in the three town’s tourism offerings. It’s not yet decided what these offerings would be. 

It’s expected a ballot will take place in April offering around 70 businesses the opportunity to vote on the ABID.  

Cabinet member for finance Mike Cox told the meeting that money for the ballot has been put aside by the council “as a loan” which should be paid back by ABID. 

“But if it fails then we will be picking up the bill,” he warned. “Hopefully, that will be very unlikely and it will go ahead.” 

Council leader Vikki Slade added: “There is a statutory timeline and the intention is that this will start delivering income to the local area in time for the summer season. 

“If we miss that season, the potential for the first year’s income is lost. We don’t know what they intend to fund next year, but there may be some key things that won’t get funded.”