{"id":694087,"date":"2026-01-13T22:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/694087\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T22:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:44:17","slug":"tourist-tax-in-london-could-raise-352million-every-year-but-central-boroughs-demand-half-the-revenue-southwark-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/694087\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourist tax in London could raise \u00a3352million every year \u2013 but central boroughs demand half the revenue \u2013 Southwark News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tourist tax on overnight visitors to London could raise more than \u00a3350million per year for the capital \u2013 but central boroughs are keen to retain their fare share of the revenue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan last year finally received the powers to levy a tax on overnight visitors to the capital after years of lobbying ministers. <\/p>\n

New modelling from Central London Forward (CLF), which represents 12 Central London local authorities, shows a three per cent levy on the cost of a room \u2013 whether that be a hotel or short-term let \u2013 could see \u00a3352m in extra income for the Mayor every year.<\/p>\n

\"\"A map showing the expected income for Central London boroughs from a tourist tax<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is significantly higher than previous forecasts, which suggested such powers could raise up to \u00a3240million annually.<\/p>\n

CLF say a percentage-based levy, also seen in Berlin, Edinburgh and New York, would represent a fairer system over a flat per night tax, which would see higher end and budget travellers paying the same fee.<\/p>\n

A flat rate would also require regular uprating to keep pace with inflation.<\/p>\n

The analysis, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), shows that the 12 CLF boroughs alone would raise \u00a3275m from a three per cent levy on hotels and short term lets, with the remaining authorities yielding an estimated \u00a377m.<\/p>\n

This has sparked calls from the central boroughs to retain half of the additional income in order to mitigate the increased cost pressures of tourism. These authorities host the majority of the capital\u2019s visitor accommodation, including 71 per cent of hotel rooms and 67 per cent of short-term lets.<\/p>\n

Westminster could raise over \u00a395m by itself, according to visitor estimates, with Camden, Kensington and Chelsea, and Tower Hamlets all forecast to bring in more than \u00a320m annually. Southwark could bring in between \u00a315 and \u00a325 million. <\/p>\n

It has not yet been decided how any money raised from a tourist tax in London would be split between City Hall and local authorities.<\/p>\n

Cllr Adam Hug, Chair of Central London Forward and Leader of Westminster City Council, said: \u201cCentral London boroughs play a crucial role in ensuring the visitor economy grows and thrives.<\/p>\n

\"\"Adam Hug, leader of Westminster Council. Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work to keep the streets clean, well maintained and safe, we invest in new public realm projects from the transformation of Regent Street to upgraded public loos in my own borough and we work with businesses to give them the support they need to grow. Many of these services for visitors are currently funded by our local residents which is not right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government should legislate to ensure that at least 50 per cent of the revenue raised by an overnight stay levy is kept by London boroughs, so we can continue providing the services London needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though income will fluctuate depending on room price changes and the number of visitors in a given year, there is also evidence to suggest that the amount of money raised from a tourist tax in London could increase further in future years.<\/p>\n

There are currently 196 hotels across in London either in planning, under construction or undergoing renovation. Together, these have the potential to deliver another 29,500 hotel rooms.<\/p>\n

\"\"A map of London showing where planned hotels would be situated<\/p>\n

This is in addition to an average two per cent increase in AirBnB listings in the capital every year, which suggests another 1,249 short-term lets going on the market in the next five years.<\/p>\n

As a whole, this increase could raise another \u00a313.1m London-wide, including \u00a37.2m in the CLF boroughs alone.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the LDRS: \u201cThe Mayor welcomes the Government providing London with new powers to charge a tourist levy. This extra funding will directly support the capital\u2019s economy and help cement our reputation as a global tourism and business destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government are currently consulting on the design of the levy. Once they have responded, we will outline our plans for developing the levy in London, including how we will engage with London\u2019s local authorities and hospitality and tourism sectors, to ensure it delivers the maximum benefits for London.<\/p>\n

\u201cLondon is the gateway to the UK \u2013 accounting for over half of all international visits. Providing London with the powers to collect and retain a tourist levy would generate sustainable revenue to reinvest back into London\u2019s economy, driving growth, creating new jobs and boosting the UK\u2019s global standing and competitiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tourist tax on overnight visitors to London could raise more than \u00a3350million per year for the capital…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-694087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115890216346933565","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}