This Popular U.K. City Will Charge a Visitor Fee Starting Saturday — What to Know
Funds will be used to help improve the visitor experience by focusing on street cleanliness, amplify marketing, and invest in the local economy.
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The city of Manchester in the United Kingdom will start charging a small fee for visitors starting Saturday.
Earlier this month, the newly formed Accommodation Business Improvement District (BID) in Manchester voted to approve a new £1, or $1.23, fee per room per night for travelers visiting the major city in northwest England.
“The accommodation sector in and around Manchester is growing rapidly, with almost 6,000 new bedrooms incoming over the next few years, and the goal of the Manchester Accommodation BID is simple – we need to increase overnight stays in the city in line with that growth so that businesses like mine can continue to thrive and make the most of this new era for the local visitor economy.” said incoming Manchester BID Chair Annie Brown. Brown also serves as the General Manager for the Hampton by Hilton Manchester Northern Quarter.
The BID says that the funds will be used to help improve the visitor experience by focusing on street cleanliness, amplify marketing, and invest in the local economy. Many cities charge local taxes and hotel surcharges, such as New York City’s $1.50 hotel unit fee to fund tourism initiatives. Atlanta, GA, and Columbus, GA, and Augusta, GA charge the highest per-night hotel unit fees, $5.00 a night, in the United States, according to a 2022 report from hospitality consulting firm HVS.
Over 1.7 million passengers flew through the Manchester airport in February 2023, according to airport data, which is 93% of what pre-pandemic levels were in February 2019. Manchester Airport also said they are set for a “strong summer” as tourism rebounds.
Manchester is known as “The Original Modern City”, and is home to the famed Manchester City Football Club, and the Etihad Stadium.
Marketing Manchester, a business development organization, shares that Manchester will soon be home to at least five new hotels that will open in 2023. These include the new 224-bedroom Treehouse Hotel Manchester, a new Marriott Tribute Collection called The Reach at Piccadilly, and Soho House will open a property called Mollie’s Manchester.
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