SCHEMES being rolled across several major UK cities charging tourists for overnight stays are unlikely to be introduced in Jersey, the Economic Development Minister has said – despite recent calls for further government investment in the visitor economy.
Deputy Gerald Voisin said that he was “not in favour” of the introduction of a tourist tax – similar to ones already seen in major European holiday destinations such as Barcelona, Lisbon and Amsterdam.
Edinburgh became the first UK city to formally introduce a 5% levy charged on overnight stays while Cardiff and Glasgow are set to follow.
Deputy Voisin said that the government would not be pursuing a similar measure at this stage, adding that an independent exit poll suggested “visitors believe that Jersey is expensive for what it offers”.
He said: “It would make no sense to add an additional cost to visiting our island without there being a clear return so that visitors feel that they’re getting better value for money.
“Our focus should be on working with the industry to improve Jersey’s productivity and growing the economy.”
Earlier this month, Jersey Hospitality Chair Malcolm Lewis called for the government grant handed to Visit Jersey to be increased form its current £7.4 million to £10 million. He argued that the Island’s tourism marketing budget should be increase to capitalise on a “truly fantastic” summer.
Marcus Calvani, co-chief executive of the JHA said he would not want to see charges brought in that were simply absorbed into government spending. However, he suggest that “a modest visitor levy” with funds generated from it ringfenced for the sole purpose of improving and growing the visitor economy, might be “compelling”.
“From the Jersey Hospitality Association’s perspective, we would be unequivocally opposed to a government-imposed tourist tax,” he said, adding that it would simply raise the cost of a visit to the Island at a time when “Jersey already faces a value challenge as a destination”.
Mr Calvani did though point to research which suggests visitors were “willing to pay an additional amount when it was specifically earmarked for improvements to their own experience at the destination”.
He added: “It is vital that we never lose sight of what an amazing destination this is and how lucky we are to live here, even if it doesn’t always seem that way.
“We need to protect Jersey, but we must also want it to thrive. Now is the time to start.”
He outlined five questions that would need to be answered if a tourist tax were to be introduced: “Does it make the visitor’s experience sufficiently better to justify what we are asking them to contribute? Can we show them exactly where their money went? Is every pound genuinely additional investment rather than a substitute for government funding? Does industry have meaningful control over how it is spent? Can we demonstrate that it grows the visitor economy rather than simply extracting more money from visitors we already have?
“If the answer to any of those question is ‘no’ we shouldn’t do it.”
