Overnight visitors to Margate could face a European-style tourist tax

Overnight visitors to popular Kent beaches, such as Margate, could face a European-style tourist tax as the local council tries to recoup the soaring costs racked up by visitors from out of town.

Thanet District Council in Kent is looking at new taxes for holidaymakers coming to its many seaside resorts – including Margate and traditional beaches at Broadstairs and Minnis Bay.

Ideas being looked at include charging additional council tax on second homes and levying a modest tourism tax on overnight stays.

In a meeting of the council’s Oversight and Scrutiny Panel on April 16, the committee recommended levying a tax on overnight stays in the county – as well as upping the council tax on holiday lets.

A beach in Margate, Kent, busy with holidaymakers during a heat wave in September 2023

Visitors at a beach in Margate crowd the sand with tents, umbrellas and towels last summer

READ MORE: How many empty second homes are in YOUR town? Interactive map reveals spread of unoccupied holiday houses and lets as councils crackdown on empty homes

Cities like Venice and Lisbon have already implemented a tax on tourists to put towards the additional costs of visitors coming to the popular cities.

A report from the meeting said the council needs to ‘actively investigate opportunities to maximise income to the Council from the visitor economy to help balance its costs to the Council.’

It added: ‘We want a booming visitor economy but we are acutely aware of the additional costs visitors bring, so we need to make every effort to secure income for the Council to set against those costs.

‘For example, levying additional council tax on second homes, levying a modest tourism tax on overnight stays, ensuring holiday lets contribute to funding the costs they impose and taking a robust approach with Southern Water over beach pollution and exploring opportunities to provide paid-for facilities like beach huts with facilities for overnight stays.’

Thanet recorded 330,200 overnight stays in the county last year according to Visit Kent

The coastal town of Broadstairs in Kent is a summer hotspot for tourists looking to visit the seaside

READ MORE: How Margate became the ‘Camden of the South East’ 

Thanet recorded 330,200 overnight stays in the county last year according to Visit Kent – and 680 businesses rely on tourist income to stay afloat according to Kent County Council.

Conservative leader Cllr Reece Pugh said: ‘I think it’s really encouraging. It is a step in the direction. Anything that ensures that people can come to Thanet is great.

‘Businesses that rely on tourism have to be seriously consulted.

‘There’s are a lot of jobs around here that need it so we’ve got to make sure any gains we get from a tax don’t wipe out the benefits we get from tourism in the first place.

‘This sort of thing will help us make sure that we can keep the beaches in Thanet nice so that even more people can visit.’

Conservative councillor John Davis also welcomed the idea to increase levies on second homes and Airbnbs.

Traditional beaches like Broadstairs (pictured) and Minnis Bay may also implement a tourist tax

Ideas being looked at include charging additional council tax on second homes and levying a modest tourism tax on overnight stays

READ MORE: The tourist hotspots at war over holiday homes: How coastal towns are divided over Hunt’s Budget crackdown – amid fears new tax raid could DOUBLE cost of staycation properties

Cllr Davis told KentOnline: ‘It’s an important initiative.

‘I would like to welcome costs on Airbnbs and the like, because in Ramsgate we have 866 homes for short term let and 21 flats. This is absolutely obscene.

‘It’s why we have people being sent a hundred miles away for temporary accommodation and why we can’t cope with the number of people on the housing list.

‘It’s a really serious issue.’

It comes after the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s announcement in March that he would abolish the furnished holiday lettings (FHL) regime, which gives tax relief for costs incurred kitting out more than 70,000 holiday lets.

Some warned abolishing the scheme – which can save them more than £10,000 per year – could have a devastating effect on their towns which are dependent on tourist spending.

While others in Whitstable, Kent, welcomed the idea with locals voicing their support for a crackdown on holiday lets.

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