The new holiday tax needs to be scrapped
TODAY Sun Travel is urging our readers to stand behind our campaign to Stop The Holiday Tax.
The Government is proposing to allow local authorities the right to tax overnight stays in holiday parks, campsites, cottages, B&Bs and hotels.
That could see the cost of some of the cheapest stays at our beloved holiday parks almost DOUBLE.
The new proposals, originally announced during the Budget, could mean a £2 tax per person per night on staycations.
That would mean £70 extra for a family of five taking a week-long break.
And that’s after you’ve paid 20 per cent VAT on your trip.
Most families already pay higher prices because of increased demand for travel during the school holidays.
The proposals will mean that many of those who have the least will be forced to pay more for precious breaks, including the many thousands who enjoy our own Hols From £9.50 trips.
The move has been met with dismay by tourism bosses and travel businesses who fear British holidaymakers may just decide to head abroad instead — or not be able to afford a break at all.
The new taxes would also have an impact on those visiting the UK from abroad.
Research from the World Travel & Tourism Council has found at least £14billion could be lost from the UK economy if daily visitor taxes were introduced.
As an industry, travel and tourism supports 4.5million jobs in the UK, the WTTC said, equivalent to roughly one in eight jobs nationwide.
But their research found that 29 per cent of visitors from the US, France and Germany — the largest inbound tourist markets — would consider alternative destinations or just decide not to visit if a substantial tax is introduced.
The levy would hit tourism in seaside towns that are already struggling to attract visitors away from the lure of cheap foreign breaks.
Just last week, VisitEngland announced a £1million campaign to encourage holidaymakers to visit the UK’s north west coast.
How can taxing those very staycation tourists help boost visits to areas of the UK where they are already having trouble attracting holidaymakers?
To show your support for our campaign and to see just how it could impact you, go to our website at StopTheHolidayTax.uk.
Enter your name and postcode and it will automatically write a message to your MP on your behalf asking them to stop the holiday tax.
The site also has a handy calculator to show you just how much it could end up costing you if the new rules go ahead.
We must stop this hols tax madness
SUN Holiday fans Diane Hunter and Michael O’Brien are already packing their bags for their next bargain break – four nights at Parkdean Resorts Whitley Bay Holiday Park, Tyne & Wear, in two weeks’ time.
But the couple, who have been on more than 200 of our great getaways in the past 20 years, are furious at the Government’s proposed holiday tax.
Retired fork-lift truck driver Michael, 61, says: “It’s an absolute disgrace.
“Just a couple of weeks ago, coinciding with my birthday, I had a major operation to remove a stomach ulcer. This break is part of my recuperation.
“But the threat of this added tax has only added to my anxiety and just shows the present Labour administration does not care about ordinary folk.
“I’m never going to agree with this idea.”
Michael and retired office worker Diane, 57, already have an astonishing nine Sun Holidays booked this year.
The couple, of Grangemouth, near Falkirk, say the value-for-money breaks put the icing on the cake of their time together. Michael feels Labour is now clearly targeting hard-working families as well as the less well-off.
He says: “The amount involved might not seem a lot, but it could mean the difference between being able to afford a holiday or not.
“Labour is scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
“So, we have no hesitation in backing The Sun campaign.
“People have to stand up and fight to stop this madness.”
‘Lots of us will lose out on trips’
JACK CULLWICK went on his first holiday in eight years this week.
With his wife and two sons, aged eight and two, he was spending half-term at Beverley Holiday Park in Paignton, Devon.
Jack, 33, of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks, runs his own transport business and can’t take holidays overseas because he needs to be close to work, even when he’s off.
He says: “The holiday tax is a terrible idea.
“There are so many people who can’t go abroad for a number of reasons, whether it’s to be nearby for family or because of their jobs or being on call.
“If we’re priced out of coming away in the UK, plenty of people won’t have a holiday at all.”