Skip to content

Visit Northumberland - Visitor Levy Consultation

Help us shape our response to the Visitor Levy consultation.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the proposed new visitor levy to help shape our response to the Government consultation that closes on 18th February.

Your views are extremely valuable to us and help us reflect industry sentiment on this important national issue.

Thank you.
The Mayor’s manifesto made a commitment to introduce a visitor levy, with an ambition to invest the proceeds into establishing and attracting major events and investing in greater promotion of the region on the national and international stage – to help attract more visitors to the North East. The Mayor has recently reiterated this position.

Visit Northumberland approaches the proposed visitor levy with measured caution but constructive pragmatism. While we recognise the risks of unintended impacts on demand and businesses, we also believe that if designed and implemented carefully a visitor levy could become a valuable enabling tool, directly supporting the priorities of the Northumberland Destination Management Plan and the principles of regenerative tourism.

A levy would be a new approach for much of the North of England. We seek some topline views on whether you feel the Mayor should be given the power to raise a levy, and if so, how this should be spent.
1.What are your views on the merits of introducing a visitor levy?(Required.)
2.If introduced, do you agree that a levy should be set as a percentage of accommodation costs or a simple flat rate per person, per night amount?
3.If introduced, do you agree that all overnight stays in commercially let visitor accommodation should be within scope of a levy?
4.If a visitor levy was introduced, what should it prioritise to deliver the biggest improvement to the visitor economy in Northumberland?
5.Finally, if introduced, who do you believe should have the decision making authority on where and how the levy is invested and redistributed in Northumberland?