Increased prices could be seen in areas like Broadstairs (Picture: Getty)
A popular coastal region is considering taxing tourists in a move to protect local beaches from the impact of visitors.
Those looking to take a peaceful day trip to Kent seaside resorts – including Margate, Broadstairs and Minnis Bay – could face a new tourism tax from Thanet District Council.
Ideas being looked at include charging additional council tax on second homes and levying a modest tourism tax on overnight stays.
In a meeting last week, the committee recommended levying a tax on overnight stays in the county – as well as upping the council tax on holiday lets.
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.’
Margate and Minnis Bay are also in the county proposing the tourist tax (Picture: Getty)
The report said: ‘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.’
Another suggested measure was providing ‘paid-for facilities like beach huts with facilities for overnight stays’.
Thanet is a popular destination for many – they 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.
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‘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.’
Conservative councillor John Davis also welcomed the idea to increase levies on second homes and Airbnbs.
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.’
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