Local tourism chiefs and councillors have been left frustrated by what they feel is a lack of consultation by North Yorkshire's Mayor, David Skaith, around a so-called tourism tax in the region.
They asked a number of questions at a recent meeting at County Hall, with one resounding theme:
"Will tourism bodies such as the Filey Tourism and Trade Association, on the front line, be consulted regarding its implementation, or not, before any sort of local tax like this is implemented?
"Businesses in hospitality are already dealing with excessive rises in costs by government tax, food, and energy and wages and they can't afford additional price rises at this time.
"The situation may be different in international tourism spots like York, but areas that rely on domestic tourism such as coastal areas are very different."
That's Andrew Jenkins of the Filey Tourism and Trade Association.
The county council said in response:
"The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has publicly supported gaining the powers to apply the visitor levy. In the recent budget, the chancellor confirmed that these powers will be made available to mayoral authorities, and announced that a national consultation on the proposal is now open. If the mayor decides to implement a visitor levy, it will be introduced and administered as an initiative by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
"North Yorkshire Council is now considering it's position and will actively engage in both the national and regional consultations. We strongly encourage all interested parties and businesses to participate in these co uh, consultations and share their views. We particularly encourage Filey Tourism and Trade Association to respond with their expert knowledge through the mayor's consultation via policy lab and through the national consultation process. In addition, finally, FTTA is represented on the visit North Yorkshire Advisory Group. The visit North Yorkshire team is currently finalising plans for the next meeting, which will provide an opportunity for the mayor and his team to hear feedback directly from stakeholders."
Councillor Michelle Donahue-Moncrieffe represents Hunmanby & Sherburn division on North Yorkshire Council:
" I think the point was made very well about the difference between a hotel, a B & B and an Airbnb, and how much will it actually cost to collect from individual Airbnbs as opposed to a hotel and how to identify if somebody's here for tourism or for business, or for whatever other reason. FTTA weren't consulted, but it's also very clear that the Scarborough businesses, on the coast, that are representative, were not consulted either.
"It's all very fine having a tourism tax, but if some of these guys are shutting down on the coast, you are going to have smaller tourism numbers because you won't have any facilities for them to use. It is part of a raft of measures that are really hammering this hospitality sector, particularly on the coast."
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